"Everybody does it"

The feeling that it is OK to pass speeding points on to a family member because "everybody does it" did not save the Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne or the black Labour MP Fiona Onasanya from criminal conviction - nor should it have.

So why are we supposed to turn a blind eye to the habitual cocaine use of at least three of the leading contenders for the Conservative leadership? They partook in the full knowledge that it was a criminal offence - indeed, much Conservative propaganda is based on the party's tough stance on non-prescription drugs. They clearly felt that the law only applied to those outside the charmed circle. White middle-class Conservatives could be trusted to handle drugs responsibly, plebs could not.

The hypocrisy of Michael Gove is particularly glaring. According to the Daily Mail, he

hosted a cocaine-fuelled party in his London flat just hours after writing an article condemning the evils of the Class A drug

Moreover, after election to parliament he voted not for a more liberal drugs policy, but in favour of Labour's raising the classification of cannabis from Class C to Class B.

It looks as if Gove owned up now only to pre-empt his exposure in a forthcoming biography and that others followed suit because they knew the spotlight would inevitably switch to them. There is an argument for not pursuing prosecution of historic offences if the people concerned have genuinely ceased and desisted from their criminal behaviour. The  judgment of their fellow Conservatives on their character is another matter and I trust that this historically great party will not shame itself by conferring high office on any one of these charlatans.