‘Carrying a machete should mean decades behind bars’-Sam Holland.

It’s time to get the knives and the offenders off of our streets to regain control of our public spaces.

The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife or weapon illegally carries a sentence of either 4 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both – this is unacceptable. There is simply no excuse for anyone to be wielding weapons like machetes and zombie knives on the streets of Britain. In Greater London, the Mayor of London has taken what he calls a “public health approach” to knife crime. This is failing, and the statistics clearly show it.

The Office for National Statistics said that there were 13,503 knife-enabled crimes in London in the year to the end of June 2023, up 21 per cent on the comparable total of 11,197 for the previous 12-month period – representing an extra 2,348 offences.

Keir Starmer has said a future Labour government would get a grip on knife crime, yet he wants to create a maximum sentence of two years for carrying banned weapons. This is absurd.

It is clear these slap on the wrist cautions and short jail terms are not acting as any form of deterrent for carrying bone saws and huge knives on public streets. If elected as the MP for Dagenham and Rainham, I will relentlessly advocate in parliaments for making decades long jail terms available to a judge for serious and repeat offenders of carrying weapons on our streets.

The soft soap approach and tolerance of excuses must be ended – it’s time to get the knives and the offenders off of our streets to regain control of our public spaces.

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