WHO ARE CONSERVATIVES?
For David Cameron for me and for modern British Conservatism social policy is central. What I have argued for some time is that this is not an add-on but integral to conservatism and for four good reasons. First, unless Britain starts to mend its broken society the cost of fractured families, of poorly educated workers and dysfunctional adults will make Britains economy uncompetitive. The recent report Bankrupt Britain demonstrates that as the economy turns down this becomes more critical, not less. In the last ten years alone the cost of welfare spending in Britain has spiralled upwards by close to 100bn. The single biggest component of government spending is the permanently unemployed the permanently ill broken families people with addictions. Then there are the costs associated with crime. Most of the criminal justice budgets have grown by nearly 50% in real terms. This money hasnt reduced crime but contained the problem. Although a lot more people are in prison we have seen large i
