David Cameron is no ‘ narrow- minded twit’

INFORMED SOURCES

Canadians seemed surprisingly unphased when Parti Québécois leadership candidate André Boisclair recently admitted to having used cocaine. But what about the Brits? What do they think of Tory Conservative leadership candidate David Cameron, who has declined to answer questions about drug use during his youth, saying only that he had “a normal university experience”? London’s Daily Telegraph asked readers whether the nature of said “experience” mattered to them. What follows are some of the responses. Of course it doesn’t matter what he did at university. The great thing about a degree course is it allows one to indulge in indiscreet ways and then describe the whole period as follows: “I was at university.” David Michell, Newmarket. Leave the poor bloke alone. It matters neither whether he did or didn’t. Modern conservatism should be about freedom and the need to bear responsibility for our actions. We need to get away from the nanny state telling us how to live our lives. Cameron seems like a normal decent bloke who provides well for his wife and children. The issue should be how well he does what he does, not whether he drinks, has taken drugs or

is teetotal. Dale Parker, Christchurch. I have no interest in whether or not David Cameron experimented with drugs while at university but do feel that while he dodges this issue it will haunt his leadership campaign. As a former Conservative voter, I was sufficiently impressed with his speech at the Conservative Party Conference last week to believe that he could be the first credible leader of the Tory Party since Margaret Thatcher. What he did prior to becoming involved in politics is largely irrelevant today. What I do care about is how he proceeds hereafter! Caren Clarke, Salisbury. I am regarded as trustworthy and reliable. Yet I enjoyed a “normal university experience” and am better for it, even though I can remember little about some of the more relaxing aspects. We were all young once. K.P., Bow. So what if David Cameron took drugs at university? It matters whether he takes them now. I didn’t take drugs at university; then I didn’t do much work either. Cameron did; that makes him a better student and no doubt makes him a better leader. Bernard Lawson, London. My belief is that if you were born after 1940 and have never tried drugs, you are exactly the type of narrow-minded twit that should not be allowed to represent society at large. Cameron is okay on this issue. Anonymous. Dear Anonymous, I was born after 1940 and never tried drugs. You say I am a narrow minded twit. Have we met? Ken Rochester. The problem isn’t that he may have smoked pot — it’s that he says he’s “too much of a politician” to talk about it. If his idea of a politician is somebody who doesn’t talk about things that might, possibly, be controversial, then he’s the ideal person to lead the Conservative Party to extinction. Brian Childs, Paris. David Cameron should come out and say he used cannabis, if he did. Who cares? I’d be more suspicious of somebody who didn’t try pot in the sixties. Look at Bill Clinton, who tried to be politically correct and justify his actions: people still laugh at him for “not inhaling.” I worry more about the intelligence of anybody that still smokes cigarettes than one who had a few spliffs in their younger days.

Alan Gamble, Bermuda. I don’t see why this should be relevant to his political campaign. After all, didn’t most people try the odd thing or two at university? And didn’t most of us grow out of it? A certain amount of experimentation with drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sex, etc. is a normal part of growing up. He should just smile and say, “ Yes, didn’t everybody?” Alicia, Berkshire.