A clutch of Sefton and West Lancs MPs are coming under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church over the Government's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (see the Daily Post story here).
Joe Benton (Bootle), Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby) and Rosie Cooper (West Lancs) are all in an invidious position - as both Labour MPs and Catholics - of potentially having to choose between faith and party.
The Bill has provoked outrage from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in England, over a raft of clauses – including on lesbian couples receiving IVF and human-animal embryos for medical research.
And while Tory and Lib Dem MPs have been given free votes – many of the issues have been tradionally regarded as ones of 'conscience' – Labour whips will be looking to get their troops through the lobbies to ensure the bill goes through.
Many North West MPs were unsurprisingly unavailable or tightlipped when contacted by the Post.
Keeping an eye on his flock - Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor
With commentators saying the Catholic Church is increasingly keen to flex its political muscles, the implications are potentially huge – especially for an area such as this, with a traditionally strong Catholic presence.
I can see political disputes over such 'values'-based issues sharpening in coming years, as the economic differences that were the grist of debate grow seemingly ever weaker.
That will offer a real challenge for the established party system. To see the differences within a party on such 'conscience' issues, compare the differing views on abortion of two Lib Dem MPs.
One is Southport's MP, John Pugh. He recently appeared in the Visiter in a show of solidarity with members of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child.
The other is the staunchly pro-choice Dr Evan Harris, whose views are outlined here.
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