December 9, 2019
Labour’s opposition to stop and search would increase crime on our streets, putting frontline officers and communities at risk.
Despite the police making clear that stop and search is essential in their fight against violent crime, Corbyn’s Labour have consistently opposed giving officers the powers and equipment they need to keep themselves and the public safe.
A new report from the Conservative Research Department – using government statistics - shows that Labour’s consistent opposition to stop and search, mandatory custodial sentencing for repeat knife carriers, and the use of Tasers would see a surge in crime every year.
A Labour government would mean:
In 2015, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell were two of only three Labour MPs to vote against mandatory sentencing for second time knife possession. Diane Abbott has called stop and search ‘unhelpful’ and in August said plans to extend it were ‘draconian.'
By contrast, a majority Conservative government would guarantee the recruitment of another 20,000 police officers and introduce a range of measures to end the scourge of knife crime and make our streets safer.
This includes a new Serious Violence Reduction Order which will enable the police to stop and search habitual knife carriers without suspicion and investing in eighteen Violence Reduction Units to enable the police to implement a long term, multi-agency, preventative approach – helping to stop violence from happening in the first place.
Responding, Priti Patel, Home Secretary, said:
“Corbyn’s Labour would put the public at risk by refusing to give the police the political backing they need to fight violent crime and put more criminals behind bars.
“As the Party of Law and Order, we will always back the police to do their jobs. The recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers is already underway and we are giving them the powers and kit they need to keep themselves and the public safe. With a Conservative majority government we would go further, introducing even tougher sentencing to ensure there’s absolutely no safe space for these thugs to operate.
“The choice at this election is clear – vote for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party who will be too distracted by the chaos of another two referendums to even think about keeping our communities safe, or a majority Conservative government that will get Brexit done so we can focus on continuing to have the backs of the brave men and women of our police service.”
Commenting, Therese Coffey, Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, said:
“Corbyn’s Pension Tax will see ten million savers facing a huge bill forcing them to delay their retirement for almost three and a half years.
“This is just one of the ways a Corbyn government would hammer hardworking people on top of his plans to hike up taxes by £2,400 a year, as well as the cost of his plan for unlimited immigration and the chaos of 2020 being dominated by two more referendums – one on Brexit and another on Scottish independence.
“Only Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party can get Brexit done with a deal, get parliament working again and turbocharge our economy to unleash Britain’s potential.”
Read more about how this Pension Tax will impact millions of savers (PDF)
