WITH Parliament gearing up for another clash on the emotive issue of abortion, it was interesting to get a glimpse of where our MPs stand.

It is 17 years since the last full Commons battle on abortion rights, when MPs voted to reduce the legal limit - set way back in 1967 - from 28 to 24 weeks.

The one thing on which pro and anti-abortion MPs agree is that another review is long overdue and now, with looming changes to rules on embryos, an opportunity has arisen.

Very soon, an amendment is expected to be tabled to the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill, calling for the time limit to be further reduced, perhaps to 22, or 20 weeks. But the pro-abortionists are also muscling their forces, in an attempt to allow terminations on demand during the first three months of pregnancy.

They will also press for the scrapping of rules requiring two doctors to approve a termination and for the operations to be carried out at GP surgeries and family planning clinics.

The passions that will be thrown up were illustrated by the recent inflammatory claim by a Scottish cardinal that the current number of abortions was "two Dunblane massacres a day".

The anti-abortionists argue that technological advances mean about 20 per cent of infants born at 24 weeks can survive to live a relatively normal life. The pros retort that - aside from a woman's right to choose - abortion on demand would allow most terminations to take place within ten weeks, compared to 67 per cent now.

So how will our MPs vote when the clash comes? Well, we can make an educated guess from last week's defeated Bill to introduce compulsory counselling before an abortion and a week-long "cooling off" period.

Voting for the restrictions were John Cummings (Easington), Robert Goodwill (Scarborough and Whitby), William Hague (Richmond), Dari Taylor (Stockton South) and Phil Willis (Harrogate and Knaresborough).

Against were Hugh Bayley (City of York), Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham), Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland), Kevan Jones (Durham North), Fraser Kemp (Houghton and Washington East) and Alan Milburn (Darlington).

Last week's Bill was the third unsuccessful backbench attempt to curb abortion rights since October - all of them falling by a comfortable majority. That suggests the anti-abortion forces in the Commons are struggling.

IN just two weeks, Tony Blair will be sleeping under a different roof - but which roof? The plan, of course, was for the Blairs to move into the £3.6m Grade II listed Georgian home they bought in Connaught Square, West London, nearly three years ago. However, earlier this year, they also snapped up a £800,000 mews home backing onto it, to combine as a family home/office space.

Unfortunately, extensive building work - a large builder's skip currently blocks part of the cobbled street in front of the mews house - will, we read, prevent the Blairs moving in just yet.

Surely Mr Blair won't be forced to base himself in Myrobella, his modest Sedgefield home, until the dust settles?

AGEING Indie-rock fans such as myself swooned at the revelation that David Cameron's most recent musical purchase was by the American garage band, Modest Mouse.

The Tory leader may not have the best policies - or any policies at all - but he definitely has the best CD collection.