Lib Dems: Stop and search is not the answer
Responding to the announcement that Police in England and Wales will be given greater stop and search powers to tackle rising knife crime, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey said:
Yet again, the Tories are trying to tackle knife crime on the cheap. It won’t work.
More random, suspicion-less Stop and Searches, carried out disproportionately on people from BAME communities, are not the answer. They will not only consume police time and erode trust in the police, but have little impact in actually preventing people carrying knives.
What we really need is more community police officers to build trust, turn young people away from crime, and target Stop & Searches on those who do carry knives.
The Liberal Democrats demand better than this ineffective and counterproductive policy. The Government must give police forces the funding they need to recruit more officers and combat this knife crime epidemic.
Cable: Whatever Brexit Parliament pursues, it must go back to the people
Responding to David Gauke, the Secretary of State for Justice, stating on Andrew Marr that the Government will consider the will of Parliament, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:
The Conservative Government’s handling of Brexit has become a source of national embarrassment. However, the Liberal Democrats have always been clear that the best deal for the UK by far has been the one we currently have as members of the EU.
Whatever version of Brexit Parliament decides to pursue, the final decision must be put back to the people.
If next week the House of Commons choose to coalesce around a customs union, the Liberal Democrats will continue our campaign for a people’s vote, with the option to remain in the EU on the ballot paper.
Corbyn must commit to a People’s Vote in snap election manifesto
Following Tom Watson’s appearance on the Andrew Marr show this morning, Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake said:
Today Tom Watson has offered a vague and convoluted statement that Labour will have a People’s Vote in their manifesto if there is a snap General Election. However, knowing Corbyn’s reluctant track record so far, he must come out and unequivocally state this is the case.
It is fine for the Labour shadow cabinet to say a People’s Vote should be in their manifesto, but they do not have the power to say it will be.
We have seen Labour let down the British public before, they must not be allowed to do it time and again. Corbyn must commit and ensure his party join the Liberal Democrats in guaranteeing that a People’s Vote will be in their manifesto.
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3 Comments
People are searched for weapons before they enter arenas for events.
Why shouldn’t they be searched when entering streets in the areas where knife crime is prevalent?
The sharp reduction in stop and search over the last five years has coincided with a sharp increase in knife crime.
Surely we need to be free to walk the streets without fear of being knifed?
David Evershed, don’t do that its naughty, is not the way forward. Stop and search is the answer. Ask those who were stabbed over the weekend how they feel. Not able to work, losing their income, the mental scars will probably last a very long time.
I suggest there has to be a certain frame of mind, to commit such a terrible crime!
Let’s deal with the causes of knife carrying: availability, insecurity, a growing culture; once someone carries an offensive weapon, we’ve lost and the rest is catch up. Carrying and owning a knife should be as difficult as owning a fire-arm.