abortion not a poll issue - blair tony blair does not believe abortion should be an election issue  arguing it is a matter for individual conscience.  the prime minister s spokesman set out mr blair s view after the top catholic in england and wales backed michael howard s stance on abortions. the tory leader supports a reduction in the legal limit from 24 weeks to 20 and has said current rules are  tantamount to abortion on demand . the prime minister has made it clear he has no plans to the change the law.  mr blair s spokesman said:  the catholic church has a well-known position on this issue and it was one of many issues the cardinal mentioned and therefore it should be seen in that context.  his words came as cardinal cormac murphy o connor  the archbishop of westminster  backed mr howard s stance and distanced himself from labour. in a statement  he said abortion was a  very key issue   saying:  the policy supported by mr howard is one that we would commend  on the way to a full abandonment of abortion.   cardinal o connor claimed labour had  developed  the notion that it was the natural party of catholics  but he said:  we are not going to suggest people support one particular party.  the family planning association says a reduction would particularly affect young women who often seek help later. more than 180 000 women in england and wales had terminations last year  of which fewer than 1% were carried out between 22 and 24 weeks.  in the cosmopolitan interview mr howard said:  i believe abortion should be available to everyone  but the law should be changed.  in the past i voted for a restriction to 22 weeks and i would be prepared to go down to 20.  all three main parties say the issue is one for each mp s conscience  rather than one where there is a party-wide policy. mr howard stressed his views were his personal views. shadow home secretary david davis said he understood mr howard had been signalling that a conservative government would allow a commons vote on the issue. mr blair and liberal democrat leader charles kennedy also gave their views during interviews  conducted as part of the magazine s  high heeled vote  campaign.  mr blair  who last year denied he planned to join his wife and four children in the catholic faith despite regularly taking communion  said abortion was a  difficult issue .  however much i dislike the idea of abortion  you should not criminalise a woman who  in very difficult circumstances  makes that choice.  obviously there is a time beyond which you can t have an abortion  and we have no plans to change that although the debate will continue.  mr kennedy said he had previously voted for a 22-week limit but medical advances mean  i don t know what i would do now . the roman catholic archbishop of cardiff  the most reverend peter smith  told bbc radio 4 s today programme that the church merely wanted people to  reflect on issues in light of the gospel  before voting. anne weyman  chief executive of the family planning association  asked:  what is the benefit to women  or to the potential child  of forcing a woman to have a baby   anti-abortion group the pro-life alliance  congratulated  mr howard on his new stance  but said it did not go far enough.