The Prime Minister’s message today is, basically, that he hasn’t forgotten about the
riots. In a speech this morning, he’s going to announce his biggest new policy in response to them so far: a network of ‘troubleshooters’ who will work with 120,000 of the country’s most unstable
families, with the aim, of course, of stabilising them. The idea is that the troubleshooters can help coordinate various services — from police to Job Centres –— to focus on these
people. According to the Sun, the families will, in turn, face ‘tough penalties’ if
they don’t cooperate.
Some of you may be wary of this scheme — and it’s easy to see why. I mean, yet more local authority lackeys swarming through the streets? Yet more money (in this case, £488 million, taken from existing Whitehall budgets) funnelled towards social breakdown? But there are, in fact, plenty of reasons to welcome Cameron’s new plan.
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