Cameron calls govt parent plan "shameful"

In his press conference earlier, David Cameron rightly condemned the government's plan to get parents with children aged between one and seven to start preparing for work, though said that he supported the government's wider aim of reducing welfare dependency and getting more people into work.

Cameron described the proposals as "shameful" saying that it was the "rotten apple in the barrel." He said he did not oppose practical proposals to help parents such as debt or drug counselling but the "sensible" time for them to think about work was when their children were at school.

This makes sense. A recent report from Unicef has shown that working mothers "put children at risk with low-quality childcare" and have suggested that it might be a good idea for one parent to stay at home for the early formative years of a child's development.

The Tory Leader said he suspected the proposal was being driven by a "macho positioning exercise" from Ministers which he said was "pretty sick." He added: "It potentially hits single mothers at a very vulnerable time of their lives," and said he wanted the idea "taken out" of the bill.

This is likely to happen, I would predict, as many Labour backbenchers are also likely to oppose the move when the legislation goes through the Commons.

I believe Cameron has adopted this position because he believes it to be right. He is a strong backer of families as the bedrock of society and wouldn't want to support anything that undermined the family. But it is also clever politics because it shows him in a positive light and the Tories as caring "compassionate Conservatives." In contrast it makes Labour look harsh and the "nasty party."