A moral compass

There was an interesting point in the debate last night when one gentleman suggested David Cameron had not talked about morality.  Which in one sense was true.  But in another more real sense the gentleman misunderstood what the whole political process is about.  You start with values (or call it morality) and you then devise policies to match that vision.  So you may not talk directly about morality but all you seek to achieve should reflect it.

So, a few thoughts about what having a moral compass brings in policy terms.

1.         An economic policy that allows for people to regain dignity through the creation of 2 million jobs since 2010 - 83% of which have been full-time, not zero hours contracts.  This has to be the No 1 achievement of David Cameron's time in office.  We all remember the cries from Ed Miliband and Ed Balls that unemployment would soar. They were wrong.

2.         As any family knows a deficit is bad news.  So in the UK family the deficit was a crippling factor that had to be dealt with.  What is interesting is even though half the deficit has now gone, some still think it was too much too fast.  But is it not a moral position to adopt to avoid this generation's debts falling on our children's shoulders?  Nearly every cut the Coalition has made has been opposed by the Labour.  Britain is slowly on its way back to fiscal sanity.

3.         Dignity.  Making work pay.  Two sides of the same coin.  Surely it’s a moral case to target welfare on those in real need.  Surely it’s a moral argument that says people who aren't genuinely seeking work should be sanctioned. Surely it’s a moral case to have a policy that will provide more certainty for low income people as they decide whether or not to move from benefits to work.  It will ensure that work always pays.

4.         How we help the really poor on our planet has to be a measure of morality.  Under the Coalition the UK became the first nation to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas aid.  If that doesn’t make you proud then you and I are not on the same page in life.

5.         Discrimination is wrong.  So no matter your view on same sex marriage, morally you must agree there shouldn’t be discrimination.  And like most reforms that have delivered equality in this and indeed in many other areas of life, they will make for a better more tolerant society. 

6.         Slavery has never gone away.  It was just made illegal.  Trafficking became the new order.  But the moral case to break trafficking saw The Home Secretary Theresa May legislate against human trafficking.  The new law consolidated human trafficking and slavery crimes, provided better protection for victims and harsher punishments for traffickers.

So when our friend in the audience suggests there is no morality in what the current Coalition have done, he needs to look again.