Geoffrey Donaldson was in very quickly with his support for the Sprucefield development. I wonder if the DUP is starting to flex its muscles.

Now what is happening with the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee? Did someone suggest there'd be no committee until October, surely not?

Asda opening up here is great news for Northern Ireland. The competition will drive supermarket prices down. Every shopper will be that bit better off and hence richer in real terms, even before we consider the jobs Asda may create.

Jeffrey Donaldson welcomed the John Lewis development, but unfortunately he was not joined in that welcome by all of his party. His DUP colleague Sammy Wilson's name was on the one-page advertisment taken out to ask the Secretary of State to stop John Lewis from coming to Sprucefield. Wilson should be ashamed of himself on that count.

And since that advert also contained many other local politicians' names, we have to ask ourselves whether these politicians are prepared to act in our interests. Or whether they prefer to act in favour of special interest minority groups instead, like the traders in Belfast and Lisburn city centres.

Because if local politicians are not prepared to act for us in defending such developments as the John Lewis one, then perhaps something is true which we would prefer not to face: better to have the unelected Lord Rooker in charge of the local economy rather than an extravagant assembly that offers only protectionism instead of economic development.

Sorry to piss on a great conspiracy theory but the John Lewis decision at least seems clean, as the John Lewis Partnership doesn't make political donations.