The country voted Labor where this would hurt the Conservatives. The majority enjoyed by the new Labor government' under Prime Minister Tony Blair is now overwhelming. The paper admitted that, quite contrary to what it and other pro-life advocates had predicted, abortion and similar issues had not mattered in the election. While Cardinal Winning rightly contended that the value of life itself must stand above every other value, and on that issue the results were disastrous, one can find some hopeful signs in the electoral aftermath. All of the Tory MPs whose integrity had come under question were defeated, rendering academic the publication of a report on in investigation into their conduct.
Labor is set to alleviate the plight of refugee applicants for asylum here.
The tensions between market individualism and social democratic universalism dissolve. In my own constituency of Chichester the local churches had arranged a pre-election meeting in the city's medieval cathedral, chaired by the Anglican Dean, as a forum in which voters could question the candidates. The huge nave was jam-packed and issues such as health and education were aired with great civility. But the life issue was not raised. So I wrote to each man and asked if they would vote in Parliament to support the unborn child's right to life.