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Who's the Daddy?

Excerpt: The Guardian reports today that David Cameron will make a speech about the family in which he will: claim the best test of how good a father is to his children is the amount of time they spend together. Mr Cameron has already suggested that he regards his family as more important than becoming prime minister.
Submitted by Tabman on 19 June 2006 - 10:21am | Categories:

The Guardian reports today that David Cameron will make a speech about the family in which he will:

claim the best test of how good a father is to his children is the amount of time they spend together. Mr Cameron has already suggested that he regards his family as more important than becoming prime minister.

"Quality time" is a much over-used phrase, and there are many tales to be told of children abandoned to the care of others (or even sent to boarding school) by excessively driven parents who are "never there" for their children.

Yet such a claim reveals, in the same way as his recent comments about focussing on quality of life rather than amassing money indicate, that he does not understand the pressures facing many parents today.

Its very easy for someone in Cameron's position to decide to spend more time with his children - I can't imagine him struggling on a weekend in his "leisure time" to do the shopping, cleaning and DIY because of the long hours he's had to work during the week just to make ends meet. If he wants to downsize he has the wherewithall to do so, and even whilst in employment I doubt he has to undertake the mundane tasks that make life such a drudge for the majority. Quitting politics to "spend more time with his family" will not make an appreciable difference to his lifestyle in the way that would happen in the vast majority of British households were the main bread-winner to quit working.

Life is hard enough for many parents in this country without the likes of David Cameron heaping more guilt on their heads. He should concentrate on formulating policies (remember those, Mr Cameron?) that make life easier for working parents to spend more time with their families, such as cutting direct taxation of the lowest paid, than lecturing them on how to be good parents.


Comments

On 20 June 2006 - 10:31pm, Peter Welch wrote:

There is a very amusing sketch on this event in the Times

Dave the Person was a bit of a disappointment after the lizard. The speech was called “The Importance of Family Life� and was sponsored by Vodafone. He referred to Vodafone quite a bit. Did you know, for instance, that the company is very keen on helping parents and children to communicate via mobile phones? Yes, I know, it’s amazing news.

This was verbal product placement and it made me realise that in future the Tories might want to have their policies sponsored by companies. We wouldn’t just have a Childcare Green Paper. It would be the Vodafone Childcare Green Paper. Ministers could wear logos on their suits and, eventually, they could look just like motor racing drivers.

The room was small and packed (the two facts are not unrelated). The audience was made up of parents from the National Family and Parenting Institute. These included Fiona Millar, who is the partner of Alastair Campbell and used to advise Cherie Blair. Dave noted this and wondered if it was Ali C in the lizard outfit. Then he beamed. He is really very good at beaming.

But beaming is not a policy. We were all there because we had heard a rumour that Dave might use his family-friendly speech to give birth to a real live policy. He has been leader now for nearly seven months and so it was about time. But he is being coy about it.

All the faves: product placement, smiles, no policies.

And there's more

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,17129-2235316,00.html

Peter

http://pigeon-post.blogspot.com/


On 21 June 2006 - 8:02am, Peter Welch wrote:

Peter

http://pigeon-post.blogspot.com/