Editing Jeffrey Archer (section)

===Political statements in 1990s===
In a speech at the 1993 Conservative conference, Archer urged then Home Secretary [[Michael Howard]], to "Stand and deliver," saying: "Michael, I am sick and tired of being told by old people that they are frightened to open the door, they're frightened to go out at night, frightened to use the parks and byways where their parents and grandparents walked with freedom&nbsp;... We say to you: stand and deliver!". He then attacked violent films and urged tougher prison conditions to prevent criminals from re-offending. He criticised the role of "do-gooders" and finished off the speech by denouncing the opposition party's [[Law and order (politics)|law and order]] policies.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Travis|first1=Alan|title=Archer offers advice on penal reform|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/sep/18/archer.conservatives|access-date=3 November 2015|work=The Guardian|date=8 September 2003|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223131424/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/sep/18/archer.conservatives|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> This was a time when Archer was actively seeking another front-line political role.<ref name=DTI3>{{cite news|title=Archer in DTI shares inquiry|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1994/jul/08/archer.politics|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Guardian|date=8 July 1994|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223131404/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1994/jul/08/archer.politics|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>

On ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'' on 20 January 1994,<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1147225/ ''Question Time'', 20 January 1994] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619082604/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1147225/ |date=19 June 2015 }}, IMDb</ref> Archer said that 18 should be the age of consent for gay sex, as opposed to 21, which it was at the time.<ref name="GuardianQT">[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/sep/19/question-time-30-years "The guidelines: Question Time turns 30"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091119/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/sep/19/question-time-30-years |date=4 March 2016 }}, ''The Guardian'', 19 September 2009.</ref> Archer though was opposed to the age of consent for gay men being 16.<ref name="Starkey">Ben Summerskill [https://books.google.com/books?id=ONBzmR_cnQQC&pg=PA99 ''The Way We Are Now: Gay and Lesbian Lives in the 21st Century''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209135203/https://books.google.com/books?id=ONBzmR_cnQQC&pg=PA99 |date=9 December 2017 }}, London: Continuum, 2006, p.99<!-- Google Books say Bloomsbury, but the Continuum logo is on the back cover; copyright page is missing from the preview. --></ref> Historian [[David Starkey]] was on the same edition, and said of Archer: "Englishmen like you enjoy sitting on the fence so much because you enjoy the sensation."<ref name="GuardianQT"/><ref name="Starkey"/> Archer has also consistently been an opponent of a return to capital punishment.<ref>{{cite web|title=Only Time Will Tell (Archer) – Author Bio|url=http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/8636-only-time-will-tell-archer?start=1|publisher=Lit Lovers|access-date=2 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170037/http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/8636-only-time-will-tell-archer?start=1|archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref>