We should be saluting the fact that, according to the latest version of the British Attitudes Survey, we are now one of the most socially progressive and liberal societies in Europe. That is a cause for enormous celebration.
The most marked finding is that he survey shows that fewer than a third of people believe that homosexuality is wrong, compared to 68% in 1993. True that it still too many but it is a massive step in the right direction. The survey also shows that Britain is towards the “more tolerant” end of the spectrum on almost every major social issue. According to the survey, this spread in social liberalism has been most marked amongst the over 60s.
I disagree with Tony Blair on many things, from the war in Iraq to his pandering to the Daily Mail and the widening inequality and declining social mobility of the past 13 years. But credit should be given where it is due and his Government does have to be praised for making the country a more socially liberal place to live. They were right to get rid of the repellent Section 28, right to allow gay adoption and right to introduce civil partnerships.
Indeed, it is probably unarguable that the social reforms introduced by Blair’s Government makes it the most important socially reforming Government since the great Wilson and Jenkins abortion, contraception and homosexuality and censorship reforms of the 1960s. It is just a shame that the first major acts of Gordon Brown’s Premiership, over cannabis, casinos and drinking hours were utterly illiberal – setting the tone for a thoroughly illiberal Premiership.
Social liberals and progressives, including myself, realise that we still have a long way to go on a whole range of issues, but there is a little doubt that massive strides have been made in the past twenty years or so. I have little doubt that David Cameron’s Government will be a thoroughly socially liberal one. Society has moved on to the extent that no Government would dare introduce a Section 28 equivalent. Although a handful of reactionaries remain, society itself is much more progressive and liberal. And we should be very grateful for that.
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Don’t get carried away by your own hubris, David. Some of what you say is true but you completely ignore the constant attempts over the last ten years to curtail freedom of speech, thought and conscience. But then an illiberal liberal like you probably believes in all that stuff: after all censorship is just fine isn’t it as long as the “wrong” opinions get censored?
As for Brown’s decisions on cannabis, casinos and binge drinking, they were entirely right. If you think that they weren’t, surely you should be demanding the reversal of the ban on smoking?