Sunday, July 17, 2005
Blair's Children
Remember the daughter character 'Saffy' in the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous? It turns out that this dramatic creation was quite prescient.
In today's Observer comes the alarming news that there is
... a growing army - coined the 'new puritanicals' - who would be happy to see restrictions on the hedonistic activities their parents once freely indulged in.The job of Liberals is, of course, to challenge such busy-bodying views. Judging by the Liberal Democrats' enthusiasm for smoking bans, however, I fear the party is all too ready to jump on board this puritanical bandwagon.
Cigarettes, alcohol, sweets, chocolates and holidays are just some of the vices on the hit list, says a new study carried out by the think-tank, the Future Foundation.
Its report 'Assault on Pleasure' reveals that more than a third of Britons believe we should think twice before giving anyone sweets and chocolates, eight out of 10 think alcohol should be banned at work and nearly half think chocolate vending-machines should be forbidden in schools and hospitals.
The bans should be policed, say the puritanicals, by strict punishments.
# posted by Simon Titley @ 8:30 pm 
