2013-05-25T18:09:46-04:00 Mhairi Fraser http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=mhairi-fraser Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Mhairi Fraser Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2087327 2012-11-07T06:39:43-05:00 2013-01-07T05:12:01-05:00

Mhairi Fraser http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mhairi-fraser/
But Obama won a second term, despite national exit polls showing that 60% of Americans counted the economy as their greatest concern, with the same number of the opinion that it isn't getting any better. Romney offered a different fiscal policy path, but he lost. And why? I'd bet my bottom dollar it's that his socially conservative policies alienated women and the gay community, and in turn any other social group that cares about social equality.

That's where I hope Cameron takes heed.

I'm a young, female Conservative with a big C. On the economy, defence and justice, I'm a small c - so far, so typical. But I don't think there is any place in modern society for discrimination against individuals on the basis of their skin colour, gender or sexual orientation, and that's where I hope the Conservative Party stands too - because if it doesn't, it won't have a place in modern Britain.

Socially, I'm fairly liberal, and the pool of people who aren't are declining with every generation. We no longer live in an overwhelmingly Christian society dictated by a fear of God's wrath - though I must say that I am by no means against religion, and would argue that some of the Christian principles which have influenced our social consciousness over the past few hundred years have been a real force for good. If churches and other religious institutions do not want to conduct gay marriages then they should not have to: church and state should be separated as much as possible anyway. But in this modern day and age, marriage is no longer a religious covenant, so discrimination that can trace itself back to religion should have no role in dictating policy relating to the union beyond two individuals. As a party that argues the case for the strength of families, I think we should be embracing long-term commitment between people of any orientation as a force for social stability.

And then there's abortion. I'm strongly in the 20-week time limit camp for ethical reasons, and would support a slight reduction in the time limit - allowing exceptions for medical reasons or in circumstances of abuse or rape. Similarly, 49% of women polled wanted a reduction, as opposed to only 30% wanting to keep it at 24 weeks. However, only half of those women in favour of a reduction wanted it to be set to lower than twenty weeks, and I can only imagine a fall to twelve weeks would see many more women jump ship. To have the newly promoted health minister stand up and voice his support for halving the limit... well, there's a reason why medical professionals called it an 'insult to women', because it completely separates female views from the control of the female body.

I don't think that Obama is anything to rave about. But in the end, Romney and the conservative far right let him win by refusing to align their social policy with the views of an enlightened modern population. The Conservatives need to be progressive and inclusive to survive the next election in the same way that Obama has done.

I'm a Conservative because I believe in ambition and hard work leading to success. I'm a Conservative because I believe that taxes should be low and that we should protect our country to as great an extent as we can. I'm a Conservative because I believe that centre-right policies are the best way to keep Britain as a main player on the international stage in years to come. So please, Cameron: make me a Conservative because I'm young, because I'm female, and because I believe in social equality too.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1022082 2011-10-20T19:00:00-04:00 2011-12-20T05:12:01-05:00

Mhairi Fraser http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mhairi-fraser/
Fraser's speech was followed by a question and answer session where the issues raised were further discussed, until the call of 'Last question!' solicited a query from an English chap at the front.

"We all know Scotland benefits from the Union, but what does England actually get out of all this?"

His voice was soon silenced by boos and a cry from the back of, "A better-looking and more intelligent gene pool!" A sense of mild outrage rippled through the Scots in the room (no overt displays of emotion of course - we're Tories).

Murdo gave a quick summary of the benefits that Scotland has brought to the United Kingdom as a whole; yet the reality is anything but brief.

North Sea oil certainly adds something to the UK economy; indeed, at the beginning of the year, that addition was a £2 billion windfall tax on oil companies. The Clyde is home to a fleet of nuclear submarines that defend the UK, not just the north. That defence is amplified by the significant proportion of the British Armed Forces that is Scottish.

And the Empire, arguably the definitive element of the history of both England and Scotland, was tremendously shaped by Scots. Even Paxman has admitted that we were "ferocious British imperialists". That Empire shaped the role that the United Kingdom plays in the modern world.

The two Alexanders - Graham Bell and Fleming - certainly benefited England when they invented the telephone and penicillin respectively. Without John Logie Baird's invention of the television, English sports supporters certainly wouldn't have been able to witness England playing in the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand recently; although, without sufficient time having passed yet to enable the healing of wounds, they may not be immediately thankful for that...

But most of all, we have a shared history that spans 300 years. Our cultures are irrevocably interlinked; it is, in fact, one single culture in many respects. I would be desperately sad to see the United Kingdom, of which I fundamentally remain proud, broken. As an expatriate child growing up in South-east Asia, I would fly back in to Heathrow every year during the summer holidays; and although we would inevitably head up to Scotland, as the plane circled over London I felt that I was home.

Whether Fraser wins the leadership election or not, I hope that the Scottish Conservatives win back the faith of the electorate and are able to resist the destruction of the Union - because I am Scottish, and I am British, and I am equally proud to be both. ]]>