Howard attacks “blame culture and political correctness”
Political correctness and a lack of personal responsibility are responsible for soaring crime rates, says Conservative Party leader Michael Howard.
In a speech in Middlesborough today, he criticised the culture of “politically correct nonsense” that allowed wrongdoers to blame everyone except themselves, and vowed not to make police record every stop and search they carried out.
Mr Howard said he rejected the findings of the British Crime Survey, which showed crime had fallen five per cent since 1997, in favour of police statistics, which found crimes had risen by 850,000 in the last five years.
Robbery had increased by half and violent crime by 83 per cent he said, leaving people feeling “powerless and insecure”. This was exacerbated by police having become “remote and distant” because of the burden of red tape.
He blamed the “dramatic” decline in personal responsibility that led people to blame others for their failings.
“The decline of responsibility and the proliferation of rights have left us in an ethical quagmire, which is undermining our fight against crime. The clear distinction between right and wrong has been lost in sociological mumbo-jumbo and politically correct nonsense,” he said.
Mr Howard said politicians should help instil respect and stand up for “the silent, law abiding majority who play by the rules and pay their dues”.
Conservative policies would include a “strong legal presumption” in favour of both parents having access to their children if they separate, and enforceable home-school contracts that would spell out the responsibilities of children and parents.
The Conservative leader said spending more money was not the answer, as spending had increased by 65 per cent since 1997 but crime had risen.
He accused Labour of tying the hands of police with political correctness and paperwork.
“The police can only do their job properly if they are able to intervene, to confront and to take action against crime and anti-social behaviour. They cannot police our streets if they have one hand tied behind their back, or if paperwork keeps them chained to their desks.”
The Conservatives would replace Labour’s targets with one objective: to reduce crime and disorder. They would also ignore the Macpherson report’s recommendation that all stop and searches be recorded, as the paperwork for each stop took about seven minutes, he said.
On prisons, he criticised Labour’s early release policy and their decision to set an upper limit on the prison population. He also vowed to build more prisons and increase drug testing and treatment.
