Conscience

All the papers report that Brown has allowed a free vote on the Embryology Bill. But I wonder if they have read the small print – always important when dealing with Brown. He says that if the Bill is passed – and it will be, the protesters are in a minority – they will be expected to vote for the Bill at its final reading.

So it isn’t a free vote at all. Ruth Kelly, for example, who has welcomed the concession, will find herself voting against the clauses her conscience does not permit her to support, then voting in favour of them a few days later, in order to keep her salary. Is this where Brown’s moral compass has led him? Is this where Ruth Kelly’s conscience has led her?