Cutting knife crime to be ‘moral mission’ for Labour if it wins general election
Reducing knife crime will be a “moral mission” for Labour if it wins the general election on 4 July, Sir Keir Starmer will say on Tuesday.
The party leader will outline his plan to halve knife crime over the next 10 years, including creating a new cross-government “coalition” to work on solutions – including families of victims and survivors of knife crime, along with tech companies and relevant organisations.
Sir Keir will also promise to chair an annual knife crime summit to “track progress” on the target, and appeal to all parties to work together on the issue.
Politics live: Sunak admits he got job ‘because of a mistake’
“Knife crime is an issue above and beyond party politics,” he will say. “For the parents grieving sons and daughters who never came home, action to end this scourge cannot wait.
“Far too often we hear the same stories from grieving families who have been subject to these brutal murders carried out by children.
“It is our duty as political leaders of all stripes to work together to end knife crime and keep our young people safe.”
Figures from Labour showed knife-related offences had risen by 81% since 2015 across England and Wales.
The party’s pledges for after the election include increasing the penalties for carrying a knife – including custody in the most serious cases, as well as extending the list of banned knives.
They will also introduce a new “Young Futures” programme to support young people in local communities.
Read more:
Simple guide to parties’ promises
What is tactical voting?
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
“Cutting knife crime will be a moral mission for the next Labour government,” Sir Keir will add.
“Our new cross-government coalition will put knife crime victims and their families at the heart of government, working with us to take the strongest action in a generation to end this tragic crime.”
But Conservative policing minister Chris Philp attacked the Labour leader’s record from his time in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), claiming convictions for weapon possession fell on his watch.
“In contrast, the Conservatives have cut crime by 54% since 2010 and recruited 20,000 more police since 2019,” he added.
“We are going even further with our plan to recruit 8,000 more police officers.
“The choice at the election is clear: cracking down on crime with Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives, or back to square one with Keir Starmer and the same old Labour who consistently fail to tackle crime.”
? Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts ?
The Tories will be reiterating their plans to lower migration on Tuesday, laying claim to being the only party to support the Rwanda plan for deporting asylum seekers arriving in the UK by small boat.
They will also pledge to reduce legal migration, with an annual cap on the number of visas that are granted for work or for people to join their family.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Migration is too high and the Conservatives have a clear plan to get it down.
“Labour would rip up our plan on day one by scrapping the Rwanda scheme, despite countries across Europe looking to it themselves to deal with their own migration pressures.”
Iran’s energy chief says 95% of the country’s 427,000 crypto mining rigs operate illegally, consuming massive power and destabilizing the national grid.
Polymarket’s ban in Romania follows similar crackdowns in the US, France, Belgium, Poland, Singapore and Thailand, where regulators cited unlicensed gambling activity.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “rebuilding” the party as she marks her first year in the job.
Ms Badenoch also said she had spent the last 12 months “giving the country a serious alternative to Labour’s weakness: a plan for a stronger economy and stronger borders”.
The leader, who was elected on 2 November last year when she defeated Robert Jenrick, said on Sunday she was “rebuilding our party, our principles and our plan for Britain”.
She came to the helm after a leadership contest, triggered by Rishi Sunak’s resignation in the wake of the 2024 general election drubbing.
Pic: PA
But despite starting to craft a new Tory policy platform, she has been criticised by anonymous MPs who are disappointed the Conservatives do not appear to be cutting through with voters.
And she has seen some senior party figures defect to Reform UK, including ex-Conservative chairman Jake Berry, former Welsh secretary David Jones, and Tory MP Danny Kruger.
Ms Badenoch also continues to face the challenge of ambitious frontbenchers who appear to be plotting potential future leadership bids, including shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick.
Despite her insistence that the party is providing a credible alternative to the Labour government, the latest polling from YouGov suggested voters are yet to be convinced by Ms Badenoch, with just 12% believing she is a prime minister in waiting, while 62% do not.
But Ms Badenoch appeared adamant in her approach as she faced down the critics.
She said: “This first year of my leadership has been about rebuilding. Rebuilding our party, our principles and our plan for Britain.
“After defeat in 2024, we faced a choice: retreat into slogans, or rebuild around values. We chose to rebuild.
“The Conservative Party now stands once again for what made Britain strong in the first place – responsibility, fairness, competence and pride in our nation.”
Read more:
Johnson third ex-Tory PM to criticise Badenoch’s policies
Analysis – Tories and Reform: From feud to love-in?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘They have scandal after scandal’
A majority of Conservative members, 54%, do believe she is doing a good job as party leader, while 24% say she has done a bad job, the YouGov survey found.
Pollsters have also suggested the Tories are less popular than the Liberal Democrats, as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK continues to lead with the public.
In May, the Conservatives suffered heavy defeats in the local elections, as Ms Badenoch apologised to her party over the result.
In October at her first Conservative party conference as leader, she made the surprise announcement the Tories would scrap stamp duty, a tax paid by house buyers, on the purchase of their main homes.
It gave the Conservatives and their leader a much-needed lift after what many have dubbed the lost year.
But backbench Tories could soon hold Ms Badenoch’s future in their hands, as a grace period stopping them from submitting letters expressing no confidence in her expires once her first year in office is complete.
Bob Blackman, who as chairman of the 1922 Committee acts as a conduit for Conservative backbenchers, said he believed Ms Badenoch’s slow and steady approach had been the correct one.
However, Labour said that “one year in, Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives have shown themselves incapable of change or learning lessons from the past”.
Party chairwoman Anna Turley said: “They crashed the economy, sent mortgages rocketing and left NHS waiting lists at record highs.”
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024