I think by 2004 it was clear that there wasn't going to be a centrist consensus, and Blair had done a far better job of alienating the left and tribal Labour, so if anything it was an exercise in maintaining the consensus by keeping them on board.

For all we know, attendance might be up because of more drag and non-kill hunts. If veal were banned at a butcher's, and they started stocking quorn and tofu as well, a huge increase in customer numbers could be explained in two different possible ways, couldn't it?