Davids Blog

New written blog

Posted by David on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 15:20:42

Welcome to my new written blog.  As well as the (fairly) regular webcameron video blogs, I am going to tap out a (hopefully more) regular written regular blog with some thoughts on what I am up to.

The aim is to be brief and never boring.  But if it becomes both long and dull it will only ever be my fault!

This week is a bit weird because half way through I am off to Israel and the Palestinian territories for my first visit.  On return I go straight into the Welsh Conservative conference in Cardiff.  This can get confusing. At the height of a Middle East crisis President Ford reportedly got off a plane in Tel Aviv and said "I'm so pleased to be here in Cairo."

The thing I am pleased about this week is that the debate about families, fatherhood and parenting is now properly underway.  The PM's attempt to say that inner city problems are not a metaphor for a wider malaise in our society has rightly been ignored, not least by his own cabinet members. 

The most important thing is that we must get away from the situation where saying you support marriage - and in my case would back it through the tax system - is somehow taken as an attack on single mums or people who choose not to get married.  It isn't - it is just recognising that marriage is a good institution that on the basis of evidence deserves to be supported.

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Posted by davidtoo on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 16:46:15

Mr Cameron:

Firstly, what do you think the country can learn from the Israelis and Palestinians through your trip to the Middle East? It has often struck me in reading their own newspapers that both 'lands' are more amicable on a people-to-people basis than is portrayed in the media, while Israel and Palestine's successes in tourism, agriculture, architectural preservation, culture, poetry, even conflict resolution and so on... are overlooked because it doesn't seem to suit anyone's Middle East agenda.

Secondly, yob culture is as much of an issue in the provincial town (of 45,000) in which I work and (of 12,000) in which I live as it is in inner cities. Why is this? Is social mobility a problem leading to the breakdown of extended and nuclear families, or an answer giving people in deprived areas the chance to escape? Would you rather children were couch-potatoes stuck at home peaceably in front of their TVs or out-and-about albeit causing trouble sometimes? Haven't we Brits always been objectionable as children: moody, sulky, and quarrelsome; and hopeless as parents, something remarked upon in at least two seventeenth century accounts that I can think of?

Posted by Tizzy on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 16:58:02

Thanks for this new interaction, much appreciated.

Posted by AndrewFarnden on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 16:58:49

Good luck in the middle east, I'm sure as the comment above demostrates that there is a lot of hope that you may feel for the first time.

The issues concerning fathers that are absent is quiet common on the site, but for the main reason that they can't get the access they are desperate for. Please don't let these people get dragged into the wider debate about absent fathers, in fact look into what we can do to give these fathers more rights.

We always talk about rights and responsibilities, well there are a lot of absent fathers desperate to be responsible but the state dosen't give the the rights they deserve.

Posted by davidtoo on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 17:25:40

Tizzy's right: it's good to have a Prime Minister (in waiting) that is willing to converse with you!

Posted by Splatfly on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 18:18:56



I hope you are not going to forget about off setting the CO2 produced by your journeys this week then.

Posted by Geddes on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:10:58

Lovely. More interaction, and it definitely reads like you are light-hearted and like to have a bit of fun. :)

Personnally, I think the result of the youth subcultures is due to the breakdown of the family.

Posted by canvas on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:31:56

David said "The most important thing is that we must get away from the situation where saying you support marriage - and in my case would back it through the tax system - is somehow taken as an attack on single mums or people who choose not to get married. It isn't - it is just recognising that marriage is a good institution that on the basis of evidence deserves to be supported."

Education Secretary Alan Johnson said "It's wrong for politicians to suggest that if we say everyone should be married, they're suddenly going to go out and get married."
"It's wrong to suggest that tax and legislation makes relationships, it's not, it's love."
"The debate is about ensuring politicians don't go back to moralising about the nature of the relationship and concentrate on helping the child,"
"We're trying very hard to give practical help, whether they are single parents or whether they are in a relationship. We're keen to concentrate on the child rather than the nature of the relationship,"
_____________________


Perhaps Alan Johnson has a chip on his shoulder? Bizarrely, Alan Johnson's comments now seem strangely old-fashioned.

Ironic - innit ?! :) LoL

PS> I REALLY hope the Tories don't start preaching 'Family Values' again. Remember what happened last time they tried that?! Yikes.


http://webcameron.informe.com






 

Comment edited by canvas on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:39:52

Posted by kozmicstu on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 21:09:31

Brief and never boring is an excellent starter for a blog. It would also, I think, be interesting to be a tiny bit more 'David Cameron' and little less 'MP' (or 'PM') on this new written blog. For Ask David and so on it's good to hear matters of policy and such, but I'd be just as interested in a more personal blog. Also, a comment or two wouldn't go amiss, though I think that may just be too needy :-) I agree with Geddes, though - show us the fun side of being a politician!

Even cooler would be a David Cameron Twitter account ( http://twitter.com ). It's like a cross between blogging, texting and away messages. Basically you just answer the question 'What are you doing?' every now and again - letting people know, in a few short words, what you are up to. Condi's got one... http://twitter.com/condi (yes, yes, I severely doubt it's actually Condi, but it would be really cool to have a webcameron twitter account!)

New media!

Stu

Posted by Tizzy on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 21:34:43

So what fictional books have you recently read or are currently reading? (Memo to Amazon...)

EDIT: I'm guessing Jane Eyre??

 

Comment edited by Tizzy on Wednesday, 28 February 2007 17:29:52

Posted by canvas on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 22:02:05

'This Book Will Save Your Life' by A.M. Homes. It's brilliant. Thanks for asking LoL :)

Posted by Tizzy on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 22:55:01

OK, canvas, I checked it out and it doesn't seem to be chick lit and doesn't have a foreword by Alex Ferguson so it's gone on my wish list. However, the question was, as you know, directed to the man who you WILL end up voting for, however hard you pretend there's an alternative (don't make me laugh about Miliband).

Posted by canvas on Wednesday, 28 February 2007 10:10:16

Tizzy please don't get me mixed up with Alicia Silverstone in 'Clueless' ! LoL :)
It's a good book and A.M. Homes is a good writer.
enjoy!
I think David Miliband could do it...
But I do like David Cameron - if only I hadn't watched that film 'Love Actually'... hhhmmmm

Tizzy - I too would like to know if DC is reading a novel at the moment. I have a feeling that he doesn't have time to read, listen to music or watch films. I hope he doesn't age before his time like Tony Blair!!! He should keep a balance! I hope DC gets to the local pub once and awhile too. If Madonna can make it to her local pub every so often - then so can DC! :)

 

Comment edited by canvas on Wednesday, 28 February 2007 10:11:14

Posted by canvas on Wednesday, 28 February 2007 10:16:10

PS> To Geddes - youth subculture has nothing to do with broken homes. It's human nature. However, technology has changed the face of 'youth subculture' over the decades. There was a time when the only way you could find out about your favourite band/music was to go and buy a fanzine and then go to a gig. Now it's all there at the touch of a keyboard.

Fashion/art/music/culture will always create and perpetuate 'youth subculture'. And trust me - that's a good thing!!!

Posted by lastmanineurope on Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:08:35

Mr Cameron,

Good to see you've taken the step to begin a 'real' conversation with the public - i think a blog is a great way to do it. I do hope to see you responding regularly to readers comments and that you get into the 'true' spirit of the blogosphere by doing so...

Justin

Posted by webcameronator on Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:32:32

lastmanineurope wrote: "I do hope to see you responding regularly to readers comments "

I'd like to see that too - and have pointed to the example of the BBC Blogs - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ (and many other blogging systems) where authors reply to their comments, in line with their other users - but are clearly identified as the author by a coloured background and other non-visual cues.

Under "Ask David" on this site it states: "David will only respond to posts in the open blog - not comments." - I too would like to see that changed and see David really engage with the users of this site.

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