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  1. Politics
16 February 2016updated 27 Jul 2021 9:16am

David Cameron is big on personal responsibility. Unless it’s his own

If your child's grades go up - well done the government. If your child can't get the best grades because of the cuts - nothing to do with them.

By Jess Phillips

The Conservative Party is the party of personal responsibility. They pride themselves on telling people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and jolly well get on their bikes to improve their lives. They love a bit of personal responsibility, just not personally you understand.
They are completely incapable of taking any responsibility for the outcomes of their actions. Instead trotting out the same old “what we inherited from the Labour Party…blah blah blah”. Honestly it’s like negotiating with my kids; “but Moooooooooom, I only punched him coz he’s always messing with my stuff.” But Daaaaaaad, I didn’t know kicking a ball in the house would smash and break everything.”

“But Jeeeees, I only put the lives of the most vulnerable at risk, because your silly party happened to be in power during a global recession.” Seriously Tories pack it in, go to your bedrooms, sit in the corner and have a word with yourselves.
I’ll tell you what David Cameron did inherit, a bloody great whacking pile of money. He’s never pulled up a bootstrap or got on his bike for naff all so its no wonder he and his kin don’t understand personal responsibility.
He makes choices, simple as that. He’s been making them for six years. He should take responsibility for them and stop blaming others like a petulant child.  So, yes, when David Cameron stands in the way of sex and relationship education reaching as many kids as it can, it is his fault when kids don’t know enough to protect themselves from abusers or where to go if they are victims. Yes, when hundreds of doctors and nurses walk out on strike it is his choices that meant your appointment was cancelled. It will be his fault too when the dangerous working practices of junior doctors kill people.
He’s more than happy to take credit for the good stuff you do. He’ll whip your personal responsibility away from you the second you get a job, or your kid gets an A at school. He’ll stand and say, “thanks to me, education is improving and unemployment is falling.”

Sucks to be a citizen in the UK – we are only ever responsible for the crap stuff we do.
I am not so partisan as not to have stood and praised the Conservatives when they do something good. Modern Slavery Bill, cracking. New laws on coercive control, Bravo. I really hope my dad (ex teacher) is not reading this but Michael Gove is not making a terrible hash of being Justice Secretary…. for now.

I’m also not afraid to face the stuff both Labour and me personally have got wrong. We should have built more houses, I’m not keen on the fact all sides bore on about Trident relentlessly. I know I can be thoughtless and reactionary and it doesn’t help the cause I care so much about. 
So David Cameron, pull up your bootstraps, get on your bike. In the words of Tyra Banks “Own it, girlfriend”. Take sodding responsibility for your actions stop blaming everyone else. The country and the Labour party don’t owe you a living or success. When crap happens because of policies you made up, it’s your crap. Some of it will be hard to hear, we get that, but it’s nowhere near as hard as it is for us to live with your mistakes.

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