Cameron is right to use the bully pulpit of his office

The normal Monday morning calm of The Spectator was disturbed today by an argument about David Cameron’s comments about fathers who go ‘AWOL’. I thought Cameron was right to say what he did, my editor didn’t. He felt that it wasn’t the Prime Minister’s job to moralise, and that him doing so was the beginning of a descent into totalitarianism.
 
The reason I think Cameron was right to speak out is that so many of the problems in this country are social or cultural. They can’t be solved by another piece of legislation or a government initiative. Rather, they require a broader cultural shift: a move away from the idea that it is alright for people not to face up to the consequences of their actions and a greater recognition of the responsibilities that we owe to other people. If the Prime Minister can use the bully pulpit of his office to catalyse this change, then that is to the good.