Havard Hughes: Cameron's Conservative Party is the home of liberty

Havard Hughes was a member of the Liberal Democrats for sixteen years, having been Cambridge Student Liberal Democrat Chairman, London Policy Chair and a London Borough Councillor. He explains here why he chose to join the Conservatives this summer and why many other Liberal Democrats are thinking of following his example.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been an instinctive liberal.  I believe in free markets, freedom of the individual from oppression and in empowering people to help themselves not lumbering them with one size fits all solutions.

For me, meritocracy, opportunity and empowerment are key to a healthy, vibrant economy and an open democratic society.  This means citizens should be empowered to take decisions over their own lives and communities and not have those decisions taken for them by an over-mighty bureaucracy.  Like many who once supported the Liberal Democrats, I became increasingly inspired by the way that David Cameron’s modern Conservatives addressed civil liberties issues and have sought to find long-term solutions to the UK’s problems.