Sounding tough

TONY Blair famously promised to be “tough on crime and the causes of crime”. Now David Cameron says “tough love” is the answer to society’s woes following the urban riots. That maybe so, but as Labour’s leader discovered to his cost, it is difficult to translate soundbites into tangible policies.

Having used an interview to mark Parliament’s resumption after the summer recess to assert that “responsibility” is the most important word in politics, Mr Cameron must now honour his policy pledges – more “broken promises” will not help with the development of a new culture of respect.

Take the Prime Minister’s promise to turnaround the lives of 120,000 “problem” families by the end of this Parliament.

As well as suggesting – wrongly – that the poor were exclusively to blame for the riots, Mr Cameron went on to say: “I’m not saying ‘no extra money’ but the point is this will save a fortune.

“How exactly we find the money, we’ll come on to that. But don’t worry, this is going to be done.”

These words reflect the public’s misgivings about politicians – and whether they can be trusted. For, while the policy sentiment is laudable, the Prime Minister’s vagueness over the funding arrangements – part of his wider welfare reform package – explain the electorate’s exasperation with their leaders.

Thirteen years of New Labour “spin” should have taught Mr Cameron that he has an obligation to provide greater clarity – whether it be on problem families or his wider approach to sentencing.

For, while he has endorsed the jailing of rioters, how does this stand with his administration’s judicial reforms that will see fewer offenders jailed in the future? This is an important issue – the Chief Constable of Humberside Police said so on Tuesday in this newspaper – but the contradiction at the heart of Mr Cameron’s policy remains stark, even after yesterday’s well-meaning but flawed attempt to regain the political initiative.