Blears rejects Asbo ‘illiberal’ claim
Home office minister Hazel Blears has rejected claims that the government’s respect agenda is illiberal and authoritarian.
She admitted the campaign had been “caricatured” as such, but insisted it was about taking action on the things that mattered most to communities, such as graffiti and anti-social behaviour.
During a question and answer session at the Labour party conference in Brighton, Ms Blears fended off criticism that anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) have been used on too many children, and have given young people a bad name.
Insisting that she did not want to demonise youngsters, she said half of all orders were used on “selfish and nasty adults who do not give a damn about anyone else”.
“Respect is a basic common decency – it is not about having your place but it is about treating people properly. If we can get this right, people will see a real difference in their communities,” she said.
Speaking during the same session, children’s minister Beverley Hughes also insisted the government had no problem with young people, saying ministers were concerned about following up Asbos and tackling the problems behind anti-social behaviour.
Part of this was dealing with mums and dads who “did not know how to be parents”, she said, which was why parenting contracts had been introduced.
One of the main points of the respect agenda, communities minister David Miliband continued, was “about restoring confidence to the public” to demand the respect they deserved.
“If they think the law and local authorities are on their side then they can reclaim some power of their own,” he told conference.
Where members of a community were unhappy about the action their local authorities were taking on the respect agenda, Ms Blears added, there would be a way for them to bring those councils to account and demand why.
Although it was a “last resort”, she said, it emphasised the importance of respect on the government’s agenda. Respect was a truly Labour policy, she said, as it affected the most disadvantaged in society.
This point was taken up by culture minister David Lammy, who insisted: “We own the respect agenda.”
It was rooted in respect for black and ethnic minorities, women and the disabled, he continued, adding: “We have got to fight for respect in our communities, but this is not new: it’s part of our mission.”
