‘Labour cannot be trusted to be tough on crime and have failed on knife crime’.
Today, we continue our feature on knife crime. We have asked Prospective Parliamentary Candidates for Havering to share their views on this topic.
Sam Holland is the Conservative Candidate for Dagenham and Rainham.
Labour have failed on knife crime in our area – they represent a danger to our local and national
security
Knife crime and stabbings are the number one issue across Havering and Barking and Dagenham – it
is blighting the whole community. The numbers of lives being upended by the appalling use of knives
are becoming too numerous to mention. It is sadly a daily fact of life.
Here are some facts on who is responsible for law and order in our area:
Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London carries the functions of an elected Police and Crime
Commissioner through his ‘Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).He is the elected official responsibility for the totality of crime across Greater London:
(https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-
mopac/about-mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/mayor-mopac)
He has held this position for eight years.
Knife crime in Greater London has soared during his tenure. According to official Home Office
statistics, in the 12 months to December 2023 alone, there were some 14,577 offences in Greater
London, up a staggering 20% from 12,119 in the previous 12 months.
In addition, my Labour opponent in Dagenham and Rainham Cllr Margaret Mullane was the Cabinet
Member for Enforcement and Community Safety in Barking and Dagenham. The community became
much less safe during her tenure, as she implemented Labour’s soft touch policies on crime and anti-
social behaviour in Dagenham. Barking and Dagenham was and remains in the top 10 most
dangerous boroughs in London.
On Police numbers, we have more Police on the streets in the UK than at any time ever before. Over
the last five years, the Conservative Government met its pledge to recruit 20,000 more police officers
thanks to the Home Office’s ‘Police Uplift’ programme. Every Police force in the country except one
got its full complement of additional officers – that exception was the Metropolitan Police Service,
overseen by Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan, who failed to recruit the extra thousands for which funding
was available.
Crime across the UK is down since 2010. The areas of the UK where knife crime is the highest are all
Labour controlled areas.
I support stop and search. I also support longer jail sentences for those found carrying knives on our
streets. It’s time to stop the stabbings in our community. As the MP for Dagenham and Rainham, I
will personally champion this in Parliament until we get the tough approach and longer jail terms, we
need for those using knives.
Labour cannot be trusted to be tough on crime. Together with their refusal to match the
Conservative manifesto commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of Gross Domestic
Product, our national as well as local security is on the line.
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Mr Holland, the SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR LAW & ORDER in our area is the Metropolitan Police Force, from the Commissioners down. Mr Khan is an elected official to whom the Commissioner reports to and takes advice if necessary. Knife crime is the scourge of the country not just this area If anyone is responsible for knife crime, it’s the failed Conservative Government who have achieved NOTHING in 14 years of abject ‘power’. No new prisons, overcrowding since 2012 and even worse, Conservative politicians now suggesting that some crimes should not result in prison sentences. That’s the Tory record on crime. And, just remember, for every one person sent to prison, one person is released to make way for them. To many innocent people have died at the hands of criminals released early from prison. ALL under the Conservative Government!! Resolve that problem first, then when people are caught with knives they WILL be sent to prison. What was it that the Tories said in 2013…? ‘Three strikes and your out…’ Now, it’s just three strikes and ‘your’ dead, but the killer goes free! Fortunately, it won’t be ‘your’ lot that will have to worry about that after July 4th; not that you would worry anyway.