Iain Duncan Smith: You Ask The Questions

Do you wish you hadn't taken up the leadership when you did?

Rachael Williams

Cardiff

No. I knew it would be difficult with Labour riding high after a crushing election win. I felt that the party needed to broaden out, to change the way it was perceived and to show that it wasn't just concerned with economics and Europe. It also needed to show that it cared about the way people lived, particularly those with the lowest income. My task was to do this and keep the party together through a difficult period. I believe I managed to refocus the party on social justice, but it was to take more time than I had.

Do you think Gordon Brown will be Labour leader for less time than you were Tory leader?

Iain Macdonald

Edinburgh

You had better ask him.

Do you feel sorry for Brown, having been a leader who was found wanting in the top job?

Anna Stephens

Clapham

It is difficult to feel sorry for Gordon Brown – after all, he coveted the job for many years and presumably made plans for the day he got it. As Prime Minister, despite all the power available to him, he has seen his party fall in the polls to its lowest level for many years. By contrast, during my last year as leader, the Conservatives rose to their highest poll rating since the early 1990s, a figure only now passed by David Cameron, which is very satisfying.

Once you became leader, did you regret all the times you had rebelled against John Major?

Andy Deacon

Lincoln

In 1992, I felt it was wrong to pass the Maastricht treaty, as it passed too many powers from the UK to the EU. I had been clear about that position before I was elected. The Conservative government decided not to have a referendum. I voted for one. As Churchill said, there are times when you have to put your country first.

Are you still a Thatcherite?

Charles Neale

by email

More importantly, is Gordon Brown?

Was PMQs the hardest test of your life?

Donna Hayes

SW12

Being on patrol in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s was more of a test, and more important.

How's your cough?

Ken Charles

by email

Fine, thanks. How's yours?

Your social justice group keeps talking about the family as the ideal unit. Why do you continue to victimise single mothers?

Leighan Marsh

Hackney, London

If you read the report, Breakthrough Britain, I make it clear that we must support single mothers. However, I make the point that there is much we can do to try and stop families becoming single-parent families. Much better counselling before families break up can dramatically arrest the high levels of broken homes in the UK, yet we spend hardly anything on this area.

We also need to try and get rid of the financial disincentives to staying together in the tax and benefit systems. Britain has the worst rates of teenage pregnancy and family breakdown in Europe, and this damages our children's life chances before they even start. A child from a broken home is 70 per cent more likely to fail at school, 70 per cent more likely to be a drug addict, and 50 per cent more likely to have an alcohol problem than their peer group.

Understanding the facts is not the same as attacking someone. For example there has been a significant rise in babies born to cohabiting parents, yet for years we have been told that cohabitation is the same as marriage and yet we now know that nearly half of all cohabiting parents will split up before their child is five. Just one in 12 marriages ends in divorce before the child is five. As a society I would think that it would be in our interests to reduce the unusually high level of family break up for the sake of the next generation.

How do you define "social justice"?

Brian Poole

Singapore

It is about making sure people get a fair chance to succeed from the earliest years of their life. It is also about making sure that when they fail, they are not written off. To do that, a decent society needs to deliver help for those who need help, and for those who help others.

Should gay couples be allowed to adopt?

Gemma Atkin

Leeds

Many children who are up for adoption have been in and out of care and become damaged and frightened. What we must avoid is children being adopted and then, because the adoptive parents split up, being plunged back into care. I support any couple prepared to bring stability to such damaged children.

Doesn't staying married when it is not what either partner wants damage children more than breaking up?

S Zaheer

by email

That is for the parents to decide, but I would refer you to the figures above for a child's outcomes after the break up. Whatever the decision, adults should recognise that their decisions will affect their children. When we researched Breakthrough Britain, we polled those adults who as children had been the products of such break up. Their stories were for the most part sad, and when asked what was the one thing they wanted at the time of the break up, most said they wanted their parents to stay together, often despite the difficulties. I hope those who are in difficulty will seek counselling, and that we as a government make sure more is available.

What is the single most important factor in securing social integration?

Krishna Sarda

London, E1

A society that values people enough to ensure that regardless of who their parents were, they deserve respect and opportunity from the earliest age.

Isn't it time that the Conservative Party admitted that neo-liberal economic dogmas have undermined social solidarity?

Aidan Rankin

London, EC1

Why do people who dislike something always put "neo" before it? The free market can be the greatest safeguard for the poor; it is the dogma of "neo"-authoritarian socialism and command economics that harmed many lives before the free market took over.

Do you think we need more religion in politics?

Harry Miller

by email

Each person's belief is a personal one, but there is a huge amount of good work being carried out by religious groups in our communities. The Government has a poor attitude to these groups and many feel it is more difficult for them to get support than other non-Christian groups. We shouldn't let that prevail.

Are the Tories ready to move out of Thatcher's shadow?

Noel Herring

by email

She was a remarkable prime minister, as will always cast a long shadow.

What was the worst thing about being Tory leader?

Natalie Dubbin

Sussex

Not seeing my family enough.

Would you like to be back on the front bench?

Bill Harrison

Harrow

I am content with what I am doing with the Centre for Social Justice.

If given a vote in the US elections, who would you vote for and why?

Jeremy Gogan

Jersey

John McCain. He is a remarkable man.

Do you regret backing Tony Blair on Iraq?

Don Barry

Sheffield

No. I believe it was the right thing to do. I am sorry that the post-invasion strategy in the first six months was so woeful and that in that period we let the terrorists gain a hold. A stable and prosperous Iraq is worth striving for. No one shed too many tears for the 5,000 to 10,000 children a month that were dying before the invasion as a result of our failed sanctions that also allowed Saddam Hussein to stay in power and murder his people.

As an Army man, does giving soldiers poor equipment violate their human rights?

Richard M

Belfast

Every government has a duty of care to its servicemen. I hope this would be a major factor at the next election. Not having the right equipment comes as a result of a government undervaluing the lives of British troops. This should be a mark of shame.

Why don't we give up the "war on drugs" and try legalisation instead?

Phillip Jenkins

Portsmouth

Because it wouldn't work. You only have to look at the cost to us all of alcohol abuse, which dwarfs illegal drug costs. Then there is the cost to society of a vast increase in drug taking. Our drugs policy in this country is a sham. We should learn from Sweden and Holland, which have far fewer addicts. They have much higher levels of rehabilitation; they don't just park people on maintenance programmes as we do. They also have strong, simple penalties that are tied to the rehab courses.

Can multiculturalism work?

Paula Crowe

Basingstoke

I worry that it has played into the hands of those who want to see separate development. What is required is a society that ultimately integrates new groups with respect and understanding.

How much work did your wife do as a diary secretary?

Simon R

Peterborough

My wife has not worked for me in parliament for some years, but when she did, she worked far more hours than I paid her for.

As a novelist, what book should I read next?

Joseph Yoe

by email

Mine, The Devil's Tune! I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice, and The Alexandria Quartet.

The report Breakthrough Britain can be found at centreforsocialjustice.org

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