The twists and turns of the Irish question have always had implications for the workings of society in Britain. Time and again, when British administrations needed to show imagination and flexibility in dealing with events on this island, they have instead clung stolidly to traditional attitudes and ways of doing things.
Very often this has centred on the issue of prisoners. The H-Blocks hunger-strikes were a classic example where a modicum of lateral thinking could have resolved the crisis and prevented the growth of Sinn Fein to its present status as the third-strongest party in Northern Ireland.
New Labour is supposed to be different. Already it has shown an imaginative and daring approach to constitutional issues in Scotland and Wales, and Downing Street took the risks required to bring about a renewed IRA ceasefire last year.
The crisis over loyalist prisoners, which could lead to a breakdown in both ceasefires and the collapse of the Stormont talks, is perhaps the biggest test so far of Tony Blair's approach to Northern Ireland.
To defuse the prison crisis, London will have to deviate from the traditional view that paramilitaries in the Maze are the same as any other prisoners in jail in the UK. There has been no great difficulty in perceiving a distinction between soldiers serving sentences for crimes arising from the "Troubles" and ordinary prisoners. The same spirit of leniency will now have to come into play when dealing with others who would not be behind bars if Northern Ireland was a normal society.
Political sources in Dublin have privately expressed annoyance that the British "haven't got the guts to do what we are doing on prisoners". Dublin has made suggestions and even handed in a document in early September outlining ways in which the British could resolve the dilemma.
Although London has increased the number of compassionate leaves and extended the length of Christmas parole, it has not got down to the core issue of prisoner releases. Tension over loyalist prisoners has now reached boiling point because of this rigidity.
On the closely-related issue of republican prisoners, London has managed to square its conscience with the notion of transfers from Britain to either the North or the Republic. But when suggestions have been made on ways of procuring early releases for either loyalists or republicans, London representatives "jump on their high horse", stressing that the process is an independent one that is out of their hands. The Irish side is quite happy to acknowledge the independence of the process, while wishing that it worked as well for paramilitaries as it does for soldiers.
Movement on prisoners, such as an undertaking that there would be general releases in the event of a peace settlement, would probably go a long way towards defusing the present crisis.
After that, determined movement will be required to restore the credibility of the Stormont talks. We have seen a number of false dawns already, where senior politicians from both governments predicted that negotiations would move into a higher gear and a new phase of intensity. If it doesn't happen in the next month, then the process will probably wither and die or else persist in an emasculated half-life - able to discuss everything but vote on nothing.
There are alarming signs of impending disintegration on the Ulster Defence Associat ion/Ulster Freedom Fighters side of the house. There is still a widespread belief, despite the LVF's admission of responsibility, that the UDA/UFF was involved in the attack on the Clifton Tavern in north Belfast in which Edmund Treanor was killed.
The Progressive Unionist Party, political wing of the UVF, presents a more cohesive front. Much will depend on this organisation's meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, in Belfast tomorrow.
One of the difficulties loyalist prisoners face is that the middle ground of the Protestant community is largely unsympathetic to their cause. Apart from the distaste ordinary Protestants and unionists feel for the actions carried out by loyalists, there is also the awareness that releases of loyalists will inevitably also be accompanied by releases of republicans.
If London is able to resolve the current difficult but reasonably straightforward crisis, fresh impetus will be given to the talks. Britain's freedom of movement depends to some extent on the attitude of the Ulster Unionists, whose leader ship is under considerable pressure from sceptical grassroots, not to mention members of the parliamentary party.
The greatest worry for supporters of the peace process is that London will relapse into the time-honoured policy of masterly inactivity followed by Mr John Major in the last stages of his administration. "Whatever you do, do nothing" could make everything fall apart.