The surprising thing about Ms Harman is how fast she bounces back. She is busily telling colleagues that there isn’t a single aspect of the welfare state she regards as working properly.I do not mean to suggest that there are no problems. There are already longer range, second-term thoughts on the huge difficulty of whether to means-test the old age pension: should, for example, the old age pension be inversely related to earnings so that the higher earners get less from the state when they retire? All these and many more sacred cows look distinctly threatened. There is a strong case for loading much more of the bill for industrial injuries compensation on compulsory no-fault insurance for employers, but in any case Harman is determined to spend more on preventing accidents in the workplace and less on paying for the consequences of them. It isn’t her fault, but Nicola Horlick has become something of a codeword in Whitehall for the idiocies of the welfare state. A woman earning pounds 60 per week at the check-out at Tesco is below the lower earnings limit for national insurance As a result she receives no state-funded maternity benefit.

By contrast a high-flying woman City executive is entitled to receive 90 per cent of her full pay – reimbursed by the taxpayer – for 14 full weeks every time she has a child. But I detect no sign that Ms Harman has been pushed off her determination, while ensuring that the genuinely disabled are protected, to seeing to it that less of the pounds 23m disability budget is spent on those who do not need or deserve it. It also underlines that for a Government whose first hard choice on welfare reform blew up in its parliamentary face, it shows every sign of being restless to find others to make.
Let’s take a few examples: the leaked David Blunkett letter betrayed deep unease about some of the DSS’s proposals on disability benefit and these arguments have not yet been resolved. And that’s despite the fact that she – like every other higher earner – stops paying national insurance above pounds 25,000 per year. The injustice of this – which DSS officials are currently working on ending in a shake-up of the pounds 500m maternity pay budget – is worth mentioning because it’s a reminder of the many aspects of welfare reform that having nothing at all to do with grinding the faces of the poor. In the case of an executive earning pounds 1m, that means pounds 18,000 per week. Did you notice the way he said that the peace process was dead …” No change there, then …”??I think he knows more than he lets on.I think we’ll have him in for another session.Should be fun And get his autograph for the wife ….

Another bleeding tragedy in the bleeding history of this bleeding country, oh God, are you listening, Tony? Tony! Look, I’ll take Health, Education, anything, I’ll do anything but Northern Ireland, even Question Time, just get me out of here! Otherwise I’ll go round the bend and start visiting prisoners in The Maze!!”Angus Deayton: “And at the end of another motorway- monotonous round, we have Sinn Fein steaming along in the slow lane with a thoroughly legal 45mph, and the Unionists in the fast lane with an incredibly similar 45mph, and what’s that ahead in the middle lane – it’s the corpse of the Peace Process! So, no change there, then.”Ian Paisley: “It’s a diabolical betrayal …”CHAPTER THREEThe SolutionDid you solve the mystery?Did you notice that everyone had an alibi, except Ian Paisley, who is barking mad and doesn’t count? And Mo Mowlam? Who has no motive?Therefore the only possible solution is that no murder took place.That’s right! The Northern Ireland Peace Process was dead all along, and has been for years! It’s just that nobody dares to point it out.Except Angus Deayton. This one.”Unionists: “This is yet another example of the way the government, of whatever complexion, have consistently flouted the wishes of the majority of the population of Northern Ireland We blame the government And Sinn Fein/IRA And Dublin And the Pope Anyone but ourselves.”Mo Mowlam: “It’s a tragedy It’s another tragedy in the history of Ulster. The peace process has been found dead.”"Completely dead?”"Yes, sir.”"Murdered?”"Yes, sir.”"Suspects?”"Yes, sir. The IRA, Sinn Fein, the Unionists, Mo Mowlam and Angus Deayton.”"Angus Deayton? Why him?”"Always liked the look of him,” said the QIO, blushing. “Thought it might be quite nice to have him in for questioning.”"All right,” said the VIO. “Round up all the suspects and let me have their statements.”CHAPTER TWOHere are the statements of all the main suspects.Sinn Fein: “Nothing to do with us We were looking forward to the Peace Process It sounded fun The IRA felt the same Not that we know what the IRA think. But that’s what we’re guessing.”IRA: “I’m sorry to hear the Peace Process is dead Nothing to do with us We have an alibi We were out buying some new balaclava helmets Look, here’s the receipt No, sorry, that one’s for the Semtex.

Strange to have a French word for such a British thing, eh?”"What French word, sir?”"Sang-froid.”"Right, sir,” said the QIO, humouring him yet again “So that’s it. However much you insulted it, or praised it, however much you said you depended on it, it never lost its temper or reacted nastily.”"Or reacted at all, really,” said the VIO “Always behaved with true British sang-froid. It wasn’t actually moving or anything, but then it never has actually moved or anything, has it?”"No, sir,” said the Quite Important Officer “That was always its charm in a way. Today I am bringing you a complete murder mystery story in which YOU the detective will be presented with ALL the evidence necessary to solve the CRIME and then, after you have failed dismally to do it, I will give you the SOLUTION and you will bang your head on the steering wheel, saying “Lordy, Lordy, I should have seen that coming!”

OK?
Get the idea?Right, here we go then with the story of: “The Strange Death of The Northern Ireland Peace Process”.CHAPTER ONE”I’m afraid it’s dead, sir. There’s nothing we can do.”The speaker was someone very high up in the Royal Ulster Constabulary He was speaking to someone even higher up. He was talking about the Northern Ireland Peace Process.”The Peace Process? Dead? But I saw it only the other day! It seemed quite healthy!” said the Very Important Officer.”Healthy? In what sort of way, sir?”The very important officer considered for a moment.”Well,” said the VIO (Very Important Officer – DO keep up), “it seemed all poised for action.

In contrast, advocates for the Dome imply that the displays will be primarily intellectual or even spiritual (mind-boggling) in content. Andrew Marr (“True confessions of a social outcast”, 7 January) suggests several topics, among them: “Is the car culture going to carry on growing or shrivel away?”, “What future is there for the countryside?”, “Is there a limit to human longevity?” Each would make a fascinating newspaper article, book or television programme, but how do you create an attractive exhibition from such abstract themes? And what could be included that has to be seen in situ, over several acres, standing up, after a tedious journey with (in my case) small children in tow, rather than mulled over on video or in print in a comfortable armchair at home?
By all means let us mark the millennium with some stimulating debate, but do it in The Independent or take over the BBC for a day or a week and give the money to the numerous splendid, cash-starved museums and galleries around Britain which still have magnificence on display.RACHEL WARDLondon W2. Sir: The Great Exhibition and the Festival of Britain are cited as models for the Dome exhibition. But both earlier exhibitions contained magnificent objects which needed to be seen to be truly appreciated. Sir: David Roots (letter, 7 January) calls for classic car owners to be compensated for the withdrawal of leaded fuel. I was under the impression that they were already receiving compensation: they don’t pay road tax on these fuel-hungry, noisy, outdated cars

MARK ORMISTON
Isleworth, Middlesex.