Has the Labour Government Since 1997 Been "Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes of Crime?"

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Carrie Raynham        Government and Politics A2 – Marilyn        08/05/2007

Has the Labour Government Since 1997 Been “Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes of Crime?”

The Labour government was swept to power in 1997 on a wave of policy slogans that captured the imagination of the British electorate. Amongst their most impressive policies was the promise to be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime.” This was an interesting slogan for the time, taking the right-wing, traditionally Conservative policy of punishment for the perpetrators of crime (“tough on crime”), and combining it with the more left wing view that crime could be stopped by educating and reconditioning the potential (and actual) criminals (“tough on the causes of crime”). This combination of policies gave the party a wide appeal and aided their campaign greatly, but to what extent has this mixture of viewpoints actually been successful in the 7 years since of Labour’s office? This essay will look at the Labour government’s implementation of such an ambitious policy, and whether they have stayed true to their word or in fact veered more towards the left or right wing perspective on crime.

Under the Conservative government previous to Labour, Michael Howard, the Home Secretary since 1993, had taken a tough stance on crime which he effectively summed up in the sound bite, "Prison works.” This had led to the overcrowding of prisons and during this time there was an increase in crime, showing that Howard’s tough stance wasn’t having the desired effect. In comparison, the ‘Old Labour’ policy on crime had focused on the environmental factors that can encourage crime. They concentrated on reducing poverty, unemployment, educational underachievement and on the rehabilitation of offenders. This stance was criticised as being ‘soft’ on crime and criminals by the Conservatives however.

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The New Labour government, billing themselves as the “Third Way” needed to reassure the public that they would deal with criminals in a suitable way and take a hard stance against crime. This is because in general, the public and the press prefer a government who takes firm action against crime. Therefore, a continuation of their previous philosophy of tackling the causes of crime combined with a new tougher stance on crime punishment appeared to be an overarching solution and a sure-fire vote winner.

Once in power, the new Labour government had to uphold its policy promise. The ...

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