Peter Hoskin

Tougher on crime, tougher on the causes of crime?

In a great post over at Centre-Right, Robert Halfon analyses the Sun’s return to the “Anarchy in the UK” line that it ran with last August.  Halfon claims that the Sun’s campaign is indicative of wider worry about anti-social behaviour and crime in this country, and that this is a concern that the Conservatives can capitalise upon:

“This is an issue of real potency to the Conservative fight-back ….  What is interesting is that there is a universal recognition (‘Labour’s flop pledges’ in Sun lingo), that years of Labour initiatives and legislation on crime have made little headway.”


If the general reaction to Jacqui Smith’s admission that she won’t walk alone in certain parts of London at night is anything to go by, then I think Halfon may be correct to identify widespread disillusionment with the Government’s record on crime.  Throw in prison overcrowding and police unrest, and the cocktail looks perfect for the Conservatives.  The only question is of whether Cameron can ever really shake the “hug a hoodie” tag, and convince the public that he’s the man to get tougher on crime and its causes than Labour ever have.  But, then again, I guess projecting a tough image is part of the reason why David Davis is Shadow Home Secretary.

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