No parent should have to bury their child.
It’s crushing to see it happening so much in the news.
Knife crime has become an epidemic on our streets. In 2017-18, over 800 teenagers were admitted to hospital with stab wounds.
There are various causes – but the Conservatives’ drastic cuts to our police have made things much worse. As have youth service closures due to the Tories’ cuts to local government.
Liberal Democrats have long championed a major boost to police funding and an increase in community police. Today we have backed a major expansion in youth services.
High-quality youth work has been proven time and time again to help vulnerable young people escape the clutches of gangs. We owe it to our children to fight for this funding to be restored.
Liberal Democrats demand better.
We’ve passed policy to refocus our fight against knife crime at York conference. We’re committing to:
- a major reinvestment in youth services
- making youth services a statutory service, protecting them from cuts
- working with local government to produce clear guidance for councils for what they should be doing
- enough grant funding to match that service provision
There’s a solution to knife crime.
Contrary what Gavin Williamson thinks, the solution is not sending in the SAS. Our policy is a welcome step to making our streets safer: I’m incredibly proud of it and of our party for passing it.