A SENIOR Bolton Lib Dem has backed calls to legalise prostitution and assisted dying — but dismissed arguments for the legalisation of cannabis.

Cllr David Wikinson, who was responding to a blog by North West Euro MP Chris Davies, in which he called on Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to follow the example of the Dutch, says the issues would split all sections of society.

Cllr Wilkinson, deputy leader of the Lib Dems on Bolton Council, said: “There are crime and disorder issues surrounding drugs and moral and ethical issues around prostitution and assisted dying.

“My own personal view is that while I find prostitution morally offensive, I do agree that if it was to be legalised, it would allow greater control.

“I also think that people should have the right to die, because I have seen people who have been terminally ill and they do not want to prolong that. There would need to be strong legal safeguards in place and I think that getting those would be a big task.

“The issue of drugs, though, I have very strong reservations about. I know it is a big part of society because I have seen young people using it in Westhoughton, but nothing convinces me that legalising it would make it easier to police.”

Cllr Andy Morgan, the chairman of Bolton Council’s health committee, said that morally he could not agree with assisted dying.

He said: “I can see the arguments for legalising prostitution— although I am not sure Chris Davies would want it outside his house — but not assisted dying and cannabis. I sit in court as a magistrate and we all know that cannabis is a starter drug and leads people on to much harder drugs.

“Assisted dying is an absolute minefield and something I cannot agree with morally. People still have a quality of life so I am absolutely against this.”

In his latest online blog — titled “Nick, go Dutch!” — Mr Davies puts forward the case for Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, whose mother was born in the Netherlands, to promote a more liberal approach to the controversial issues.

He said: “When it comes to dealing with controversial issues like drugs, prostitution and medically assisted dying, the Dutch are simply more grown-up.”

In 2001, Mr Davies was arrested and charged with possession of cannabis in a protest aimed at supporting the imprisoned owner of Britain’s first Dutch-style “coffee shop” in Stockport.