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Dee Doocey

Dee Doocey writes: Riots – a case for reason and not posturing

By Dee Doocey | Mon 22nd August 2011 - 11:53 am

The TV comedy The Thick of It brilliantly satirised the tendency of New Labour to govern by ‘initiative’. Politics was reduced to public relations. Policies were created on the hoof with an eye to the next morning’s headlines.

If you thought those days ended at the last general election, think again. The recent riots should have given everyone pause for thought. Instead, many politicians and commentators were shooting from the hip or trotting out predictable responses.

Playing to the gallery pays only short-term dividends. Yes, “something must be done”. But politicians of all parties have a duty to think before they open their mouths, and not try to cash in on gut reactions or tabloid hysteria – despite the media’s hunger for sensational news and tendency to incite sensational comment.

Despite the pressure to meet emotionally-driven imperatives, only an intelligent, long-term, considered response will prevent a recurrence of these riots. What needs to be done?

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , , and | 14 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Tim Leunig
    Looking forward to seeing lots of you there!...
  • Tim Leunig
    Well said Chloe. If we want more people to do public sector job X, pay people doing that job more. All the evidence is that people look at headline wages, and h...
  • Jason Connor
    To add to Chloe's list hospital porters, phlebotomists, litter pickers and security guards. I am sure there are many others but some occupations have less trade...
  • cim
    With almost all of these mentioned "key professions" being public sector ones (care workers, for now, aside) where the state both sets and pays the wage directl...
  • Jana
    @Peter Wrigley, @David Raw From personal experience: I have a good friend who is a manager in a manufacturing company who was telling me that his company recen...