The two main unionist parties, the UUP and the DUP, are both now expected to accept the new policing arrangements for the North. The SDLP decided on Monday to endorse the proposals.
The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr John Reid, said yesterday that the Policing Board for the new Police Service of Northern Ireland would be appointed by the end of next month.
Ulster Unionists hint that they are likely to agree to nominate members to the board, which could then begin work in October. The Democratic Unionist Party, despite its anger about aspects of the policing plan, is also expected to nominate members within the next month, according to party sources.
In its most positive indication that it would co-operate with the setting up of the Policing Board, the Ulster Unionist Party chairman, Mr James Cooper, said: "While we are not opposed in principle to nominations to the Policing Board, we still have a number of concerns."
He said the party "is committed to the development of a culture of lawfulness in Northern Ireland".
However, the anti-agreement Ulster Unionist MP Mr David Burnside said the party's decision would be tied to the SDLP's willingness to share power in a Stormont Assembly in which Sinn Fein was excluded until IRA weapons decommissioning took place.
The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, remains on holiday and party sources said it was likely that any decision to nominate to the Policing Board would be delayed until his return.
The Church of Ireland Primate, Dr Robin Eames, meanwhile supported the Catholic bishops' stance and urged all parties to give the revised implementation plans a fair chance.
George Jackson, in Derry, adds: Speaking to Rotarians in Derry, Dr Reid said the issue of the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons was as much an indispensable part of the Belfast Agreement as the issue of policing.
Dr Reid, in his first public appearance since the SDLP gave its backing to the policing proposals., described the SDLP's decision as both unprecedented and historic and he called on other political parties in the North to assume their responsibilities on the policing issue and not criticise form the sidelines.
"That is why I am delighted that the SDLP announced yesterday that it will nominate to the Policing Board. For them it is a cultural shift every bit as great as unionists have been asked to make. It does, I believe, provide the springboard for that new beginning in policing."
Sinn Fein has inadvertently released details of possible agitation against the new Policing Board which would target GAA clubs and county boards as well as "secondary schools".
A fax, apparently sent accidentally to UTV, from Sinn Fein's headquarters in west Belfast, gave the agenda for a special meeting on policing. The party told Ulster Television the document had been considered but rejected.