Cameron slams UK's 'moral collapse'
Source: Agencies |
August 16, 2011, Tuesday
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THE UK must confront a culture of laziness, irresponsibility and selfishness which has fueled four days of riots that left five dead, thousands facing criminal charges and hundreds of millions of dollars of damage, Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday.
As rival political leaders gave their response to England's unrest, Cameron pledged to deliver a raft of new policies aimed at reversing the "slow-motion moral collapse" he blames for fostering the disorder.
"This has been a wake-up call for our country. Social problems that have been festering for decades have exploded in our face," Cameron told an audience at a youth center in Witney, his Parliamentary district in southern England.
"Just as people last week wanted criminals robustly confronted on our street, so they want to see these social problems taken on and defeated."
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said yesterday he was already examining whether those involved in the riots should have their welfare payments cut, while London mayor Boris Johnson said young people involved in the disorder should lose their right to free public transport.
Cameron pledged to end a culture of timidity in discussing family breakdown or poor parenting, or in criticizing those who fail to set a good example to their children or their community.
"We have been too unwilling for too long to talk about what is right and what is wrong," Cameron said. "We have too often avoided saying what needs to be said, about everything from marriage to welfare to common courtesy."
In a rival speech, opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband criticized Cameron's response as overly simplistic, and demanded that lawmakers focus on delivering better opportunities for disaffected young people.
"The usual politicians' instinct - announce a raft of new legislation, appoint a new adviser, wheel out your old prejudices and shallow answers - will not meet the public's demand," he said. "Are issues like education and skills, youth services, youth unemployment important for diverting people away from gangs, criminality, the wrong path? Yes, they matter."
The differing approaches to the UK's most serious riots in a generation are likely to dominate the country's annual political conventions, which begin next month. Miliband has called for a full public inquiry into the roots of the riots, while Cameron claims his government can examine the issue adequately.
The prime minister insists racial tensions, poverty and the government's austerity program - much of which is yet to bite - were not the primary motivations for the riots across London and other major cities.
Instead, he pointed to gang-related crime, and a widespread failure by the UK's leaders to address deep-rooted social issues - including through the country's generous welfare system.
"Children without fathers. Schools without discipline. Reward without effort. Crime without punishment. Rights without responsibilities. Communities without control. Some of the worst aspects of human nature tolerated, indulged - sometimes even incentivized - by a state and its agencies that in parts have become literally demoralized," Cameron said.
As rival political leaders gave their response to England's unrest, Cameron pledged to deliver a raft of new policies aimed at reversing the "slow-motion moral collapse" he blames for fostering the disorder.
"This has been a wake-up call for our country. Social problems that have been festering for decades have exploded in our face," Cameron told an audience at a youth center in Witney, his Parliamentary district in southern England.
"Just as people last week wanted criminals robustly confronted on our street, so they want to see these social problems taken on and defeated."
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said yesterday he was already examining whether those involved in the riots should have their welfare payments cut, while London mayor Boris Johnson said young people involved in the disorder should lose their right to free public transport.
Cameron pledged to end a culture of timidity in discussing family breakdown or poor parenting, or in criticizing those who fail to set a good example to their children or their community.
"We have been too unwilling for too long to talk about what is right and what is wrong," Cameron said. "We have too often avoided saying what needs to be said, about everything from marriage to welfare to common courtesy."
In a rival speech, opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband criticized Cameron's response as overly simplistic, and demanded that lawmakers focus on delivering better opportunities for disaffected young people.
"The usual politicians' instinct - announce a raft of new legislation, appoint a new adviser, wheel out your old prejudices and shallow answers - will not meet the public's demand," he said. "Are issues like education and skills, youth services, youth unemployment important for diverting people away from gangs, criminality, the wrong path? Yes, they matter."
The differing approaches to the UK's most serious riots in a generation are likely to dominate the country's annual political conventions, which begin next month. Miliband has called for a full public inquiry into the roots of the riots, while Cameron claims his government can examine the issue adequately.
The prime minister insists racial tensions, poverty and the government's austerity program - much of which is yet to bite - were not the primary motivations for the riots across London and other major cities.
Instead, he pointed to gang-related crime, and a widespread failure by the UK's leaders to address deep-rooted social issues - including through the country's generous welfare system.
"Children without fathers. Schools without discipline. Reward without effort. Crime without punishment. Rights without responsibilities. Communities without control. Some of the worst aspects of human nature tolerated, indulged - sometimes even incentivized - by a state and its agencies that in parts have become literally demoralized," Cameron said.
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