This afternoon’s parliamentary debate touched on the sociological issues that may
have inspired the recent looting. Naturally, there are plenty of competing views on the subject, but I bring your attention to Harriet Sergeant’s, which she has expressed in the latest
issue of the Spectator. Sergeant has conducted extensive investigations into the teenage gangs in London, acquainting herself with gang members and their way of life. Her observations are
intriguing, albeit terrifying. An extended version of her magazine article is available online and I urge you to read it. But here is a short extract:
‘The young men I interviewed had very obviously failed to make the transition to manhood and a successful adult life. Their failure leaves them disengaged from society and its values. The majority find themselves trapped in an extended, semi-criminal adolescence well into their 20s and 30s. The former Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, has been quick to blame this sudden explosion of violence on Conservative tax cuts. He has a nerve. These young men came of age during the thirteen years of Labour. They are Blair’s children and the Left’s creation. It is not deprivation that has stunted their lives, but the policies of the previous government in three key areas – school, work and home. As one boy said to me, ‘I did not want this life. It just happened to me.’ Here is how.’
David Cameron’s Commons address insisted that public service reform will alleviate these entrenched impediments in time. It is a colossal undertaking. Read Sergeant’s piece and you begin to appreciate the scale of, for instance, IDS’ mission to wean illiterate and amoral young men off benefits and into employment. A month or so ago, the work and pensions secretary gave a controversial speech that urged British businesses to hire British workers; he implicitly criticised businesses that employed immigrants in “posts which could be filled by people already in Britain”. After witnessing the mindless venality of late, it’s hard to share IDS’ faith in the indigenous population. That’s not to say it is misplaced, just that only a saint would take a punt on the Lost Generation now, especially in the current economic morass.
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