Alice,

having been by far the best columnist in the paper for the last 3 - 4 months this piece really does you no credit. Knee-jerk reaction tosh.

Bill, Truro,

We the Muslims in UK are suffering because we do not have special courts for us. For instance, divorce are difficult in the British law and takes years while by the Islamic law it is very easy. We can not make relations out of marriage and we can not get marride because the delay of divorce.

Mohammed, London, UK

Even if what David Cameron said was true, being drenched in privilege from birth means he's not very well qualified to say it. Nowadays an increasingly better educated electorate are well able to see this dichotomy juxtaposed with the hypocrisy and immorality of our own politician's lifestyles.

David Curtis, London, UK

Grow up Alice, a society without an understanding of right and
wrong won't survive, but be taken over by something worse.
The 7th century christian church in North Africa became
liberal not knowing what it believed, islam came in, church
dissapeared. Yet the Greek orthodox church survived islam

Amanda, Exeter, England

I had begun to hope that self-righteous scribblers who, as a means of berating Conservative philosophy,wilfully ignore the obvious difference between self-reliance and selfishness, had finally been banished from fhe pages of at least the more thoughtful papers,but evidently not.Just ignore her.

Andrew Johnson, London SW16,

Here comes the left, biting at the Tories when they actually suggest that the wasters of this country should actually take responsibility. Why? Becaues the Tories want to help people help themselves. Labour want to keep them poor, on benefits, so they vote labour.

David, Cambridge,

This article is a good example of intolerance and lack of thought. What David C said was sensible and measured; Alice Miles should get out more.

Len, St. Andrews, Scotland

All Cameron was saying was that people are able to choose a lifestyle & if that lifestyle turns out to be damaging, then some personal responsibility applies. Society is not fully to blame. Life chances DO differ but each person has a responsibility to make choices that will improve their situation

Donna Walker, Effingham, England

"How dare this man with every chance in life from the start... tell this woman that she doesn't need any help?" Would it have been OK if someone poor said it?

Background doesn't determine what someone dares to say, that is called freedom of speech. Why does being rich justify silencing Cameron?

Ben, Hitchin, Herts,

I'm surprised that Camoron didn't also have a go at smokers who inflict cancer and heart disease on themselves. Think of the money for middle classs tax cuts if the NHS refused to treat these people. Or perhaps there would be a reaction led by the Press if we left people like us to die.

Heath, Odiham, england

This is all rather reminiscent of Bridget Jones at the Law Society Dinner in "The Edge of Reason"

Mike Fowle, Felixstowe, UK

Taking responsibility for your actions is a fundamental part of democracy and freedom - this is what Cameron is saying, and what the freedom-hating socialist PC brigade running the country fears.

Peter, London,

Good point and well made. Regardless of whether you agree with Cameron's stance that we should take more personal responsibility for our actions politicians shouldn't be going around espousing moral rhetoric and telling for us who is good and who is bad it's just not their place

Hamish, London,

There is no poverty in Britain. This cannot be said often enough no matter how much it angers the welfare lobby (good easy jobs for soft degrees there). Our 'poorest of the poor' have standards of living better than surgeons in the third world.

Eric Skelton, Cardiff, Wales

This typical feminine view lies at the root of so many of the problems of our pitifully emasculated society. We need the firm - even sometimes harsh and apparently uncaring - masculine drive to keep people responsible, self-disciplined and constructive. Life is not all soft options.

Bernard, Norwich, UK

An indian friend of mine got angry on hearing how bad life was for the underclass in Britain. She said they get a home, enough to eat, tcan educate themselves to degree level. She said if you want to see real child poverty go to the streets of India not a tower block in London.

Andy, uk,

"how dare this man tell that woman she doesn't deserve that help? "

He's not saying that. He's saying that if she hadn't been overweight and pregnant, and her mother a drunk, she wouldn't need so much help, which after all has to be paid for by the rest of us.

Alex Swanson, Milton Keynes, UK

Opinionated harshness? It doesn't seem like David Cameron is quite in Alice Miles's league yet.

Miles should give him lessons.

Christopher Chantrill, Seattle, USA

You're not responsibie for the circumstances you are born with or the things that are thrust on you.

But you are responsible for what you say and do.

As for Cameron's comments he seems to saying take responsibilitty for your actions or inactions as the case may be!

John Goode, Welwyn Garden City, UK

Nonsense. Love and personal responsibility are two sides of the same coin. Treating people as responsible adults is not "excluding" them, it is empowering them.

NBeale, London, England

Leave the church alone! It's OK the way it is, let women's libbers and the homosexuals start their own church. their lust and ego will destroy the church of england as we know and love it.

kit, seattle, usa

Yes, I don't quite see how Cameron's "chide a chubby" speech squares with "hug a hoodie".

Craig Strachan, Los Angeles, USA

Here is the characteristically toxic 'compassion' of the left. No, let's not talk about the real behavioral problems of the dysfunctional. Let's blame them instead on Tory voters. And let's wrap ourselves in smarmy self-righteousness at the same time. Who cares the damage we do?

Malcolm, Medina, TN, USA

It is about taking responsibility for yourself and should be commended. For too long we have tried to find excuses to explain social problems, which has exacerbated situation. Society should offer support but not a free ride.

Edward, Geelong, Australia

This is just stupid - get out into the real world. Of course external events and luck play a part in one's situation in life, but please don't try and say that 99% of the fat people I see are deprived, or that most of the crowd outside the social security wouldn't improve their chances with a wash.

Peter, Cambridge,