Nationalisation of Northern Rock In October 2008 the chairman Ron Sandler noted that there had been informal talks concerning the idea of the merger with the government, but there had been no subsequent discussion. Sandler did however add "It would not surprise me at some point if a closer look was taken at the method of managing loan books within government-owned banks". In March 2009 Alistair Darling said that he was keeping his options open during the "fast-moving" crisis in the banking industry, and thus not ruling out the possibility of a mortgage book merger between Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley. On 24
Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972) Lord Lieutenant". In practice the Executive Committee was answerable to the elected House of Commons of Northern Ireland. As a result, the Executive Committee stood in a similar relationship to the legislature and Crown (within devolved Northern Ireland) as the UK's Cabinet does to the Crown and Westminster Parliament. The Executive Committee thus played an equivalent constitutional role in relation to Northern Ireland as the UK Cabinet did to the United Kingdom as a whole. The system of government created by the "Government of Ireland Act 1920" was first suspended by the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972, and then