Life Goes On

I stunned a few of the handful of counterdemonstrators against the March for Life in Birmingham on Saturday, when I told them that I had first met Jeremy Corbyn before they had been conceived.

I never did tell them that our views were exactly those of John Smith. But they would probably never have heard of him, anyway.

Nor did I mention that it had been Margaret Thatcher who had given this country abortion up to birth.

One of the several Lindsay Amendments that the next Parliament will not see (although feel free to take them up) is the following:

Nothing shall permit an abortion on the grounds that the child, if born, would:

a) be, or not be, of a particular sex;

b) be, or not be, of a particular race or ethnicity;

c) be, or not be, of a particular social class;

d) be, or not be, of a particular caste or subcaste;

e) have, or not have, a particular sexual orientation; or

f) have, or not have, a particular gender identity.

The first four certainly go on.

Caste is an important test of Theresa May's sincerity.

To court certain ethnic votes and foreign interests, David Cameron re-legalised caste-based discrimination after the previous Labour Government had outlawed it.

Yes, you did read that correctly.

An attempt to restore that ban needs to be brought to the floor of the House of Commons as soon as there is any such House.