1. What does it matter, really, that several of the Tory leadership candidates dabbled with drugs on occasions when they were younger and still finding out about life? I could be more reassured than outraged that they had allowed themselves to be open to new experiences, especially in a social setting where peer hope or expectation was a factor.
The fact is that this was a one off in terms of the number of times, or the period of time, within which it happened and they have behaved differently since.
We are so over the top in how we respond to these things, or at least the media are. Do normal, ordinary folk really care as much as the media about these things? Boris‘s naked electioneering (cutting taxes for Tory members likely to vote for him) concerns me more: a sheer opportunist who will stop at nothing to see ambition fulfilled. Does he really have the vision or temperament or seriousness to fill the PM role? It’s not just about being a performer.
2. We need to look at how we deal with rape cases. The evidential proof bar for a conviction is necessarily as high as it is. But why does so much have to be placed on proof? Bringing the parties (alleged victim and offender) together, where they are willing to talk about what happened, how they feel about it now, what they have learnt as result and how they may wish to give or receive an apology or make reparation in some other way, could achieve so much more if this option too were not so obstructed by strict legal protocols. It really is time to look at this again.
The Emporer's New Clothes 