Political Views
In initial debates on the spending cuts, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, Edward Leigh described Laws as heeding to "stern, unbending Gladstonian Liberalism". Laws added that he believed in "not only Gladstonian Liberalism, but liberalism tinged with the social liberalism about which my party is so passionate."
Around the time of the 2010 general election, it was alleged that Laws told a Conservative colleague that he would have become a Conservative politician had it not been for the Tory party's general "illiberalism and Euroscepticism" and particularly the Thatcher government's introduction of Section 28, which forbade local authorities from "promot homosexuality". According to former MP Evan Harris, one of Laws' former colleagues, "Laws is a fully social liberal on equality, abortion, faith schools, religion and the state. He is also very sensible on discrimination issues and sex education."
Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce described Laws as "an unreconstructed 19th century Liberal. He believes in free trade and small government. Government should do only the jobs only government can do. There's no point in having a large public sector if the users of the public services are getting poorer."
Read more about this topic: David Laws
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