Sunday, January 21, 2007

Cameron and Cannabis


Last week David Cameron sought to resume the mantle of Margaret Thatcher, particularly in the area of social conservatism. It wasn’t a great move, designed to shore up the Tory grassroots who are getting nervous at the possibility of mainstream middle class voters who don’t share their prejudices actually voting for them. This week, however, he is back on form, saying that he is ‘relaxed’ about the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes if a benefit can be shown. The Lady would be turning! If she were in her grave. Which, happily, she isn’t.

2 comments:

SPL said...

Would she? I'm not so sure. I see her more in the vein of neoliberalism than neoconservatism.

Giles Marshall said...

Extremely interesting thought, and one that is exercising the U6th in their study of ideologies considerably. It strikes me that the legalisation of cannabis might be a grey area for Thatcherism, since her definable economic liberalism was certainly balanced by a traditional, authoritarian approach on social and 'moral' issues. Question is, I guess, would she have seen cannabis in this context as a 'moral' issue?

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