Yob clampdown key for Blair
Promoting respect towards others and clamping down on yobbish behaviour would be the key theme of a third term Labour government Tony Blair said today.
Giving his first monthly press conference since being re-elected Mr Blair said it had been made clear to him during the campaign that people had real concerns about behaviour on the streets and in classrooms.
Questions ranged widely from the latest accusations against George Galloway, the Iraq war, education in London and the quality of life in the north east.
Promising a “bold programme” for the new Parliament Mr Blair said the people were “fed up with street corner thugs” and respect for others would be a central plank of this Parliament.
He said there were “root causes” of yobbish behaviour and binge drinking – including poor parenting – and parents should back teachers, not children, if they were reprimanded at school
Mr Blair said that Labour would “sit down with headteachers” to make sure they had all the powers they needed in the classroom to deal with problem children.
And he lent his support to Bluewater shopping centre’s decision to ban individuals who wear clothing that deliberately obscures their face – such as a hooded top and a baseball cap – saying “I actually agree with it”.
One of the key things was to make “people feel safe and in control” and ensure a “modern society free from prejudice but not free from rules”.
It was important that “decent law abiding people aren’t put in fear and frightened of going down to the shop”, he said.
On immigration and asylum, the Labour leader accepted it had been an issue in the campaign but said it was “unhealthy to have this running as a major issue in an election campaign again”.
Labour’s legislation changes had worked, he said, hinting that the next lot of asylum figures would show a large drop. And, measures such as closing bogus language schools, introducing a points system for work permits and preventing chain immigration would reassure people of the integrity of the system.
Mr Blair was scathing of the European Parliament’s decision yesterday to vote for the removal of the 48-hour working week opt-out saying that Europe “simply cannot afford to give up our flexibility” in the global economic market.
He had “no intention whatsoever” of abandoning the opt-out – adding that he believed the UK had a blocking minority on the Council of Ministers.
On wider European issues, Mr Blair seemed to rule out joining the euro for the foreseeable future, saying that while the option remained open it was “difficult to see in the near future” how the correct economic conditions were going to come into place.
And he suggested that even if the French voted against the EU Constitution there would still be a referendum in the UK – but there was no indication of the timing.
