Three years ago the toppling of a conservative Government in Germany led to a seminal moment for European cannabis – but there appears to be little chance of a repeat in the continent’s second most populous nation.
The UK General Election has seen the Labour Party return to power after 14 years with a stonking majority of over 170 seats.
During the years when it was out of office Labour had shifted markedly to the left under socialist Jeremy Corbyn. And, if he had been elected there was a fair chance he would have taken the UK down a similar path to Germany.
However, with centrist, former Labour premier Tony Blair pulling the strings of the new Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer this subsequent rightward shift looks set to leave little room for UK drugs policy reform.
Sir Kier has said he has ‘no intention’ of changing drug laws in the country, adding: “Other countries will take different approaches they traditionally have, but our approach is settled and not really a subject of great debate even within the Labour Party.”
Nevertheless, with over 200 of Labour’s 411 MPs in Parliament debutants there will be many back-benchers agitating for change.
Two of the parties who support UK drug reform have increased their presence in parliament with the Lib Dems now having 71 seats up from eight and the Greens up from one to four.
Read the full article at Business Of Cannabis
