Just wondering whether Mk2 Cooper S steering column bracket was chrome or painted.

Mine were both painted satin/semigloss black (11/69 and current car 3/70).

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1970 Mk2 Cooper S under restoration

My 3/70 Matic was too.
Mk1 and Mini Deluxe were chromed, so I swapped mine.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Whilst am wondering about the chrome/not chrome bracket. The other thing about the ignition key spacer, were there 2 types of ignitions. One short and one long for the spacer.

Yes there were. I recall my 1961 850 had the short one, but think all the key start switches were long. My mate's 997 Cooper had the spacer and I think everything else did from then on.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I have found that DeLuxe and Mk1 S had chrome brackets, just as they used chromed gear levers.
Mk2 Mini K and Mk2 S (introduced in early 1969) had satin black painted brackets and gear levers.

It turns out that there are many of these steering column brackets, some six of them (and counting), all different in some respect as to the slot, weld nut, cutout on one side, etc. However, it would seem that this bracket started off painted black in 1958, then went to chrome in 1959 for the Morris 850, stayed chrome until about late 1968 or early 1969 whereafter the finished is shown as black paint over chrome!

When you say "black paint over chrome", do you mean the bracket was chromed, then painted black, or it could alternate between paint or chrome finish?

I can't see any paint finish lasting long if over chrome.

To answer BIll's question above, yes, the paint was applied over chrome according to a method specified by BMC for the manufacturer to follow.
As a further complication, the parts books indicate that when a steering lock is fitted, the bracket remained chrome...