Cameron to UK Public: Shape Up, You Fat Drunks

Oh my. How often is it you see a politician lay out some harsh truth like this? Not very often, I'd say. But it's certainly a sign David Cameron is feeling confident enough to utter such bold statements.

David Cameron declared yesterday that some people who are poor, fat or addicted to alcohol or drugs have only themselves to blame.

He said that society had been too sensitive in failing to judge the behaviour of others as good or bad, right or wrong, and that it was time for him to speak out against “moral neutrality”.

In a conscious shift of strategy, the Tory leader said he would not shirk from discussing public morality and claimed that social problems were often the consequence of individuals’ choices. “We talk about people being ‘at risk of obesity’ instead of talking about people who eat too much and take too little exercise,” he said. “We talk about people being at risk of poverty, or social exclusion: it’s as if these things — obesity, alcohol abuse, drug addiction — are purely external events like a plague or bad weather.

“Of course, circumstances — where you are born, your neighbourhood, your school and the choices your parents make — have a huge impact. But social problems are often the consequence of the choices people make.”

Taking personal responsibility for yourself.

What a novel concept.

Meanwhile, most Labour voters think Gordon Brown is a loser.