We need those ground rules now. The likelihood of that happening, however, is minimal. If John Reid and Donald Dewar, locked in consultations, can't agree with each other on the best way to proceed, it is unlikely that opposition parties will find them to their liking. These accommodations were always going to be contentious. Meanwhile, opportunities will go abegging.
Big business is a very pragmatic beast.
The last thing it wants on a project is to find itself the centre of an ill-tempered dogfight. Rather than risk that happening, it will simply go elsewhere - or shelve the project. Uncertainty or lack of political clarity is a major inhibitor of trade. So come on, Labour. Publish those Concordats.