tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14422435.post3854543792824769003..comments2024-01-03T06:47:01.541+00:00septicislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03369157723084834549noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14422435.post-45706607748816728552010-09-29T12:56:13.521+01:002010-09-29T12:56:13.521+01:00Guess I&#39;m still showing my relative youth and ignorance there. Thanks for putting me straight.septicislehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03369157723084834549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14422435.post-1498589672818038762010-09-29T08:59:18.850+01:002010-09-29T08:59:18.850+01:00<i>surely they were right to emphasise that being tough on the causes of crime was as important as being tough on crime itself, not the other way round?</i><br /><br />No - the idea is that Old Labour had always emphasised tackling crime by removing its causes (inequality, extremes of poverty), and what Blair &amp; Blunkett added was the emphasis on being tough on crime here and now. Actually that&#39;s a massive simplification - they also added a completely new conception of what the causes of crime are, with less emphasis on poverty and more on the personal fecklessness of the &quot;underclass&quot;. The coalition are tiptoeing away from all this stuff; the big test for Ed M. will be whether he can go with them.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07009879034507926661noreply@blogger.com