William Hague coming out for legalising cannabis is a welcome new development, though he isn’t the first former Tory leader to do so. Back in his groovy WebCameron days David Cameron told Guido “If it can be proved that there are real benefits, medicinal benefits and scientific evidence for it, I would be relaxed about that… my decision would be to licence it if it could be proved to have benefits.” Home Secretary Sajid Javid was convinced by the scientific arguments to grant an exception for Billy Caldwell. What are the prospects for the exception becoming the rule?
The international context is important. With many US states decriminalising medical cannabis it is becoming more acceptable at government level. In Europe the experience of more liberal regimes can be shown to have improved rather than worsened matters. Countries are granting licences for medical cannabis more readily – Malta is introducing legislation to enable it to become the EU’s leading medical cannabis exporter. The spirit of the age is for liberalisation.
The normalising of cannabis use beyond dope smoking teenagers is becoming more widespread. Many people now have the personal experience of an auntie or granny who uses weed to deal with their arthritis pains, never mind those with more serious conditions like MS and cancer. This social development has made the perception of cannabis use less negative.
Domestically we now have a generation of politicians who have used and are familiar with the reality of cannabis use and don’t see it in the demonic terms that non-user politicians of the past might have. With the departure of Paul Dacre from the public stage they also no longer fear a monstering from the Daily Mail if they do speak out in favour of a more liberal, rational policy. Think tanks are now pointing to the tax raising potential of legalised cannabis. The stars are aligning for decriminalisation, though judging by the reported rows in cabinet, one Tory leader stands in the way…
A new frontline has emerged in the Labour Party culture war: younger members are calling for a ban on alcohol from CLP meetings to ensure the party can “become truly inclusive of women and other minorities”. They’ve come a long way away from the days of working men’s clubs and union brothers deciding things at branch piss ups. Nona Buckley-Irvine, LSE student union boss turned Unison officer and Labour candidate in Crawley, says it is time for an end to Labour’s “lad culture”:
Alcohol has no place in decision-making – but at Labour Party meetings, members are permitted to drink. In my own Constituency Labour Party, I have witnessed the corrosive effect that alcohol has on party culture, and if our party is to become truly inclusive of women and other minorities, it’s time we ruled out this practice. It was only upon returning to my home CLP having spent five years in London, including as general secretary of LSE students’ union where I tackled lad culture at the university, that I realised how outdated the practice was. Much like the young, middle-class men at the LSE, older men would drink, shout over one another and over women, and speak at length with no particular point to make… It became all the more evident when I tried to put through a motion banning alcohol, and councillors stood up and walked out the room when it was proposed, shouting down the chair and shouting down a young woman like myself. In fact, the second time it was proposed, the motion was denounced as “evil and wicked”.
Take that, brocialists…
Partying at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort last night… @edballs pic.twitter.com/gtpqG6qI8d
— Eye Spy MP (@eyespymp) January 22, 2018
Pictured at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort yesterday… Ed Balls. The former Shadow Chancellor was partying with socialite Toni Holt Kramer, the founder of “Trumpettes USA”, and Tina Hillstrom, an actress who is part of the “Real Women for Trump” campaign, and who Ed follows on Twitter. Toni and Tina spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago celebrating Trump’s one year anniversary as President. Ed looking almost as orange as the Donald…
Bad news for parliament’s junior boozehounds – the Sports and Social bar has been closed indefinitely, not because of handsy MPs but because two older Commons staffers had a brawl there last night. Police were called at 6.30pm, at which point a 57 year-old man was arrested for GBH and affray and a 64 year-old man was taken to hospital by ambulance. He had allegedly been glassed in the face. The authorities have wanted to close Sports for a while, typically punishing the young staffers who mostly drink there for the behaviour of a few more senior people twice or three times their age. This looks like the excuse to do it. Players?
UPDATE: The word in Parliament is the victim of last night’s fight in Sports is a Hansard editor and the alleged glasser is a regular who always sits at the bar.
Guido just spoke to George Morton who was very coy about his neighbour, Jared O’Mara MP. George is a fan of music, in fact he is the principal conductor of the Sheffield Rep Orchestra, he just isn’t fan of loud music all night. Unfortunately his next door neighbour Jared has been partying too hard and too loud. Is upsetting neighbours wise behaviour for an MP from a marginal seat?
