By Ed Balls
It's become a depressingly familiar sight. Whenever something awful happens in our country, up pops former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith to proclaim it as just the latest example of our so called "broken society" - and that, somewhat bizarrely, David Cameron is the man to fix it.
Don't get me wrong - I had the same reaction as everyone else when I saw The Sun newspaper last Friday morning. Whatever the facts turn out to be about this tragic case, it was appalling to see pictures of a very young 13 year old boy "Dad" cradling a tiny baby while playing with a Playstation.
My first reaction was to check that everything was being done locally to make sure the young lad, the teenage mum and the baby are safe, properly protected and that they get all the support they need. These young people should be in school studying, not on the pages of the newspapers.
That case brings home to me how vital it is as a society that we do everything we can to keep teenage pregnancies coming down. We've got the lowest level of teenage pregnancies for 20 years - but they are still too high. Which is why the Schools Minister, Jim Knight, is now making sex and relationship education compulsory.
But the idea that this tragic case means "Britain is broken" is absurd. As was David Cameron's shocking claim in a Sunday newspaper that the appalling way in which Karen Matthews locked-up and abused her daughter, Shannon, could well be repeated by the 5 million mothers who currently receive income-related benefits.
So now is the time to expose and stand up against this Tory slur that "Britain is broken" and that David Cameron is somehow a great social reformer.
Firstly, the Iain Duncan-Smith strategy simply ignores the facts. Over the last decade teenage pregnancy rates have fallen. So has child poverty. And thousands more young people are volunteering.
Yes, there are some parents who don't take their responsibilities seriously - and have to be made to do so. There are also a small minority of young people who persistently break the law and ruin things for other young people. And it is right that the criminal justice system is tough when they do.
But these Tory "broken Britain" claims are not only highly offensive to the vast majority of parents who do a great job bringing up their kids; they are also totally unfair on the vast majority of law-abiding young people who work hard at school, play by the rules and, in my experience, deeply resent these attacks.
Secondly, the Conservative Party consistently refuses to support our Children's Plan policies to tackle the causes of under-achievement, poverty or crime.
The fact is that it's this Government which is expanding one-to-one help to young and vulnerable parents through our Family Nurse Partnerships, as well as Family Intervention Projects which provide non-negotiable support for families at risk. It is our Government which is making Sex and Relationships Education compulsory, and providing extra funding for organisations which provide relationship support and help for children whose parents do split up.
Thirdly, Tory policies would makes things worse - as we all remember from the 1980s. In my Department they want to cut £200 million each year from Sure Start, when everybody knows that investing throughout the early years is critical to a child's life chances.
They are also pledged to cut £300m next year from children's services - just at the time when we are working hard to get children's services working together to tackle all the barriers to a child's progress and well-being inside and outside of school. And David Cameron's inheritance tax plan would divert £1 billion to the richest 3,000 estates in the country without benefiting people on low or middle incomes at all - still a priority for the Tory leader, as he confirmed at the weekend.
The Tories oppose education for all to 18, our new Diplomas and our National Challenge interventions where schools are under-performing - preferring a free market approach with new schools where parents can shout the loudest paid for by cuts to other schools. They also oppose CCTV even though in constituencies like mine in West Yorkshire, it's essential to cutting crime and reducing the fear of crime.
And their plan to give extra money to married couples - at the expense of the millions of children whose parents are separated, widowed or divorced - is about as unfair as it gets. It would effectively create two classes of children, hamper our efforts to tackle child poverty and do nothing to keep families together.
As Tory leader, cutting public spending and stigmatising single parents were Iain Duncan-Smith's twin obsessions. Scratch beneath the surface and not much has changed. David Cameron's Conservatives are not progressive and they're not social reformers. Britain is not broken - let's not let the Tories break it.
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Hello? ….figures released show they have increased.
Just something else that Labour have not fixed despite your attempts to spin otherwise.
We've had 12 years of what must be, by any sensible measure, the most deceitful, incompetent, arrogant and corrupt Government this country has had to endure.
The country isn’t broken beyond repair but the Government certainly is.
For all our sakes just go. Call an election now!
o.g Balls
This society is indeed broken. It won't be fixed until you stop chipping away at the Conservatives and focus on solutions. We the public are abe to make our own judgements on your performance to date. When you defend your own track record and criticise the opposition it screams of a party running scared. The public wants leaders who will face the fractures head on, accept they exist for all to see, and deliver appropriate actions allow for full recovery. How can we have confidence in a government that refuses to see the problems? See them, then solve them. It starts with listening to your people.
Case in point...under age pregnancies. Admit our rates are the highest in Western Europe, listen to the teachers and parents,
and look to countries that have delivered good sex education alongside social responsibility. If we can openly discuss homosexuality, anal sex and how to put on a condom...why is 'marriage' such a dirty word? Why not reward families for staying together?
Here's an interesting angle...how many divorced mothers of chidren in private education are claiming EMA of £30 per week?
The maintenance given to them by they're ex partner does not need to be declared. We reward divorce at every level of society.
So yes Ed, I'd say we are morally broken at every level. We are waiting to find a politician that demonstrates the courage to admit it and the integrity to sort it out. Frankly, most of us don't care which party they come from...anyone with a fully functioning moral compass and some inspirational leadership would be quite refreshing.
This LabourList Site will only bring you closer to your people if you stop spouting, start listening and have the courtesy to reply every now and again. Otherwise we'll just blog off and rejoin the ranks of the apathetic.
Ivor Dunmoanin
http://wannabepm.blogspot.com/2009/02/going-dutch.html
100,000 of people in their 20s and early 30s were priced out of owning their own home unless they were prepared to lie on mortgage application forms. They weren't eligible for social housing so had to resort to private landlords, paying rents that were the same as a mortgage would have been. You didn't change the law to stop landlords evicting people at 1 months notice so it was impossible to have a regular and secure home. You just ignored us.
Now the banks have collapsed and we are having to bail them out for over £1 trillion. Labour voters are losing their jobs and homes.
Meanwhile my children go to state schools but yours don't. Why? Is their something different about your children or is it that you think non-selective state schools are just a poor second best. Why is the state system good enough for my kids but not good enough for yours. You run the state schools and your children don't even go to them.
Over a million eastern europeans have been allowed in to the country to work. I remember labour cabinet ministers saying it was keeping inflation down. How it achieved this was by keeping our wages low. Us the peoiple who vote labour.
I don't understand why you haven't resigned. Have you no honour.
The one thing I did appreciate when you got into power was that you stopped blaming poor people for the problems of society.
Statements such as this:
"Yes, there are some parents who don't take their responsibilities seriously - and have to be made to do so."
From the above article show that you have now well and truly dropped that approach. I remember Major banging on about single mothers being the problem. How long till you pick up on that old refrain?
Sure it was critical of a party policy that in my view has failed.
Why is this not allowed?
As for "broken britain" I care not for the slogan but I think it has some truth - I've lived in London for 6 years now and have seen a marked deterioration. I can't get on a bus any more without a gang of youths waltzing on without paying, travellers and the bus driver being unable to confront them for fear of being attacked (4 teenagers have been stabbed to death within a mile of my house in 2 years, 2 members of staff at my local Tesco have had a family member killed).
I hear no talk of this, only "there is more work to do". This post underlines why this government is incapable of solving the problem. Ed Balls says "My first reaction was to check that everything was being done locally to make sure the young lad, the teenage mum and the baby are safe, properly protected and that they get all the support they need". They do not need help, some things are WRONG, these children engaged in under age sex, isn't this against the law?
The lack of responsibility spreads throughout society, people don't need to be responsible for themselves anymore, someone else will look after them if they fail themselves, and I say enough is enough. Stop hiding and blaming people, deal with the problem by making people deal with their own problems for a change!!!
Unfortunately Labour types are inheritently unnable to allow people to learn to help themselves. After all, that would then lead to the masses actually being able to accept individual responsibility - ooh! they can't have that - more of us would then start questioning their policies, plans and beliefs, which, lets face it they can't stand - I have rarely heard a Labour politician give a straight answer - they can't. This happens in a "comrade" type state....
j
P.S. Thank you Mr Balls for actually getting the Union flag the correct way up this time.
I connect with this Mr Taylor. Although I think that yu exaggerate to make a point.
I quite like the phrase "social wisdom" too. Do you think that wisdom can be imposed..or we just have it whenever.
we are ready.
Without wanting to cause offence, but it seems that is unavoidable in a forum such as this I would say that those who promote the concept of a broken society are themselves broken in some way - in some significant way, within.
I have now bought myself a hooded top and carry a good kitchen knife around with me. It's a sabatier but I'm looking for something a bit more comfortable to carry.
I hadn't before appreciated that it was me who was wrong. But I now feel instantly empowered by my increased anonymity and ability to defend myself.
I can go out whenever I want, without fear now. You are right, I was broken. I could not defend myself before, but now I can...
...all because I realised that it was me who was wrong, and society that was right. Thank you for your words.
If someone is bad yu are under no compulsion to become bad.
society has issues, which society does not.
work with others to change it.
a rant is no good.
The issue yu raise are about respect, freeedom.
with respect Ben, the more yu are yourself the more free yu will feel, .Furthermore, the more yu respect yrself /appreciate yrself the more respect yu will have/i.e the more empowered yu will feel. yr destiny is within yu.
it is nothing to do with another.
Having said that yu can affect society's destiny.
Things can look tough but this is only temporary. Mandelson's last headline comment was very good. How we approach these things is important and that takes some awareness and self-awareness.
You query the Tories claim about broken society following the Matthews case - and you refute this by saying you have lifted thousands of children out of poverty. Do you not see the irony here - that the children of Matthews will be on your list as some of those lifted out of poverty - because you only measure the financial issues involved. I dont suppose her children feel the same.
i would say that with the Government has its hands full at present in providing leadership in addressing the global issues underlying the present financial and economic crisis.
there will come a time when the issue that yu raise will have to addressed more fully.
In the meantime, when yu say..
"because you only measure the financial issues involved"
in future, how do you think the government should measure the success of its policies. What other criteria should be added in addition to poverty.
This government has been, and is, obsessed with money and appear to believe that by just handing out lots of money that they have solved a problem. Yet everywhere you look it has not worked. Because using money effectively requires far more care and expertise than just giving it away. There are many people who have become very wealthy as a result of this governments desperately poor management of our finances - and few of them are the people that really need it. On the other side of the coin there are pensioners out there living on a pittance who cant fight their way through the bureaucracy to achieve a reasonable income.
And as for the governent being too busy with the economic crisis - and the fact that they are mainly repsonsible for it - what on earth were they doing in the 10 years before it took them by surprise!
thanks,
it is unclear to me George what yu are proposing.
But they have been so careless and thoughtless about this policy (and many others)and its implememtation that it has, in some cases, actually created child poverty. The way it has worked has been to encourage some mothers, who may otherwise have had little interest in having a family, to have a number of children as evidenced by the Matthews case. My point is that poverty can manifest itself in many ways - and the Matthews children were undoubtedly living in abject poverty. But they would still be included in the group that this government would claim to have lifted out of poverty! Poverty doesnt just mean lack of money - and in the Matthews case they had money.
I was also trying to make the point that the whole benefits system, which can be very generous to some people, is also incredibly complex and bureaucratic to the extent that many older people, in particular, do not get the benefits they are entitled to - and, because they are means tested, they are intimidated and embarrassed to apply for what they think of as charity.
I know I am wasting my time with this because one of this governments mantras is "we dont make mistakes and anyway its all someone elses fault"
We have a highly confrontation style of politics in this country and it is not surprising that ppl (i.e politicians )get on the defensive.
It would be rare person who could claim and then also be beleieved when they say "we dont make mistakes and anyway its all someone elses fault" .
and if yu think yu are wasting yr time, I would say that that is quite far from the truth. with best wishes.
Ed Balls stick to government work you're meant to be doing instead if writing inane blogs and perhaps figure out your actual prognosis for our economy.
"poverty in the UK" yu say.
and the world says that UK is rich. so that is kinda confusing.
"a constructive criticism" - I am unclear what yr proposal is.
I wasnt actually suggesting a proposal, I was referring to situations like during PMQs and Questiontime whenever a Tory talks about a humbling example of poverty or broken society. Whoever represents labour it is very often Hazel Blears who does this just ignores it and says im not taking lectures from tories, which is frankly rather childish. As to my proposal I suggest we eradicate poverty by firstly increasing school attendance and offering alternatives to academic training by increasing apprentices and vocational training they way it was. Diversifying the economy by encouraging a manufacturing sector. Support marriage and provide assistance in bringing up children whether it be low cost childcare or community help for single parents to help them into work. Either lower benefits or increase community work programs to help stop the benefit trap. And finally give children respect they deserve.
They are also pledged to cut £300m next year from children's services -
Can you back this up with confirmed publication of either a speech or in written form - or is this just another shadow & mirrors lets think of an amount and use it dog whistle?
I am not holding my breath for an answer - this is the worst blog around for any sort of interactive dialogue - it is nothing more than a portal for the last dyeing breath of New Labour.
j
And, we are forever being reminmded we have our "rights" (rapidly disappearing sdown the plughole) but also our responsibilities, but, like all right-wing governments Blair/Brown have made sure they keep all their rights, including the right to maximise their expenses and housing allowances, while people are being asked to pay for more and more for less and less, including the Blair vanity project of the Olympics, which has driven many small East London companies out of business, and paying through the nose for rail trtavel to satisfy the greed of the TOCs, even though they are heavily subsidised. and which prior to the 97 election Labour had promised to renationalise. And let's not even start on Mr Brown's pet PFIs.
this a very curious British phenomena. why?
are the Brits the most fearful nation in the world...that we need to be so protected from our neighbours that there has to be CCTV camera's everywhere,
it seems to be the case. I recommed "Less Fear, Greater Serenity"
"Huge investment in closed-circuit TV technology has failed to cut UK crime, a senior police officer has warned.
Det Ch Insp Mick Neville said the system was an "utter fiasco" - with only 3% of London's street robberies being solved using security cameras.
Although Britain had more cameras than any other European country, he said "no thought" had gone into how to use them"
Who here would walk around their local large town centre at night, say around 11:30? Both Harman and Smith went for a walk with the police, and they felt in neccisary to wear a stab proof vest, and please dont tell me they wanted to blend in.
perhaps this chap has some ideas of this own
on using the CCTV cameras. He gives us a negative. but does not balance it with a positive i.e what change does he recommend.
For all the billions of pounds poured into the vast swathe of government issues, there has been little positive change on the ground since 1997.
i.e. Someone needs to try doing something different.
You've not articulated any change in thinking. Therefore - you are the wrong person / party to tackle these issues.
home healthcare if better.
neighbourhood watch has gone thru a renewal /
and bobbies on the beat are here and also there (on their go fast mountainbikes)
.....some of the change on the ground.
that I am sure is in the public consciousness now.
It's not normal for a child of 13 to father a baby, it is wrong. Not matter what you say, it's not just the opposition criticising Labour's handling of welfare. Charities and the UN are critical too.
This is the country with the unhappiest kids in Europe, fear of intimidation, life chances, education.
Poverty of aspiration cannot be replaced by hosing money everywhere.
Iain Duncan Smith has spent time looking into issues like these and is responsible for a very successful charitable foundation looking at the social breakdown of Britain. I'd value his opinion over yours anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Frank Field too has excellent ideas which put Labour's current policies to shame.
To speak of 'opportunity' and then waste talent like that - you are not worthy of consideration.
David Honour, as much as I love my country, I'm sick of the faux compassionate monopoly of the Left because not only have they messed up this country again with another botched social engineering experiment utterly devoid of any kind of morality. I'm sick of having to pay the bill for it. Seeing as they like immigration so much, I'm happy to give up my spot for another economic migrant.
1. Make a positive case.
2. Find what people can agree on.
3. Make it happen.
That post was concise and to the point. I'm in shock.
P.S. Hope you are well etc.. etc....
And people call me a Labour staffer. LOL.
Thanks J. It's better when people are nice to each other.
By the same token though, wouldn't you agree that it's irresponsible to ignore the positive things and the improvements that have been made? Which is exactly the effect that parroting a cheap and meaningless slogan like "Broken Britain" has.
For example, 600,000 children lifted out of poverty directly as a result of government policy - are their lives "Broken"?
what is the source of this figures Andrew. Given that no one has responded to you comment, it seems that yu make a very good point.
The one thing I like about America is if you want to do something people will get behind it. The one thing I like about Japan is that people will cut the whining and carry their load. Britain has the worst of both worlds. I figure, that needs to change.
There's just no part in most British people that makes them sit up in the middle of a recession and say 'I can do this, let's make it work'.
Being that kind of person myself I feel a bit of an odd one out.
Instead, there is a negative and cynical attitude to other people, an unjustifiably negative and cynical attitude to the government, accompanied by a negative and cynical attitude to both opposition parties, the media, music... life in general.
It's as if people just want to be miserable. I think that's a waste of life.
I despair at continually seeing these negative articles bashing the tories of 20 years ago - look at the polls, it isn't working.
I'm slightly puzzled. The Tories claim to be the party of business, yet, can't even get their own house in order. They're flogging vapourware and beating up prospective customers. How dumb is that?
It makes you wonder how they'd run the country...
Ed, surely you realise that you'll soon have plenty of time to do that when you're in opposition.
Labour isn't perfect and has made mistakes but I don't see how the Tories are a better alternative. They haven't got the policies, insight, or integrity and are rushing to claim victory before they've sorted themselves out. The whole Tory project is a rush job, not fit for purpose, and will break like a plastic toy.
I'd rather stick with something that just works than take a punt on something that's going to blow up in my face. Labour seem to have a clue. I like what I'm seeing on policy and character grounds. Sure, it's not prime time material yet but the shape is there. The rest is just polish with the Tories stuck in development hell.
Yes Chuck. And you also wrote all of Shakespeare's plays and - with your wife - co-authored all his sonnets.
After enlightenment: chop water, carry wood.
>>I'd rather stick with something that just works <<
I'm rarely speechless. But I'm speechless.
“My first reaction was to check that everything was being done locally to make sure the young lad, the teenage mum and the baby are safe, properly protected and that they get all the support they need. These young people should be in school studying, not on the pages of the newspapers.”
Well that’s a problem right there isn’t it? Young children breeding because they know they’ll get the support of the government. Where is the help, the praise and the reward for responsible hard working citizens? Because I can assure you it doesn’t belong in British culture. You get more of this country the least you put in. I’m in my 20’s, work hard and run a business and even I can see that. If the papers are to be believed the reason that these ‘children’ are in this mess is because they’re parents are anti social, lay abouts who just see the quick buck associated with selling your story and living off the welfare state -and these kids won’t be the last. If that’s not broken Britain then I don’t know what is.
Whilst I whole heartedly agree with you that David Cameron isn’t going to be the saviour of the UK I can’t see that Gordon Brown is either. At the end of the day perhaps a cold hearted and perhaps pessimistic look at how the United Kingdom is behaving in our social and professional capacity would help see where the cracks really are and give a better understanding on how to fix this country to make it become a place that people are proud of again. In fact right there is a huge clue - a country that people can be proud of, because people aren’t proud to be British any more. And without sounding like an passage from the Daily Mail its because we aren’t allowed too.
“But these Tory "broken Britain" claims are not only highly offensive to the vast majority of parents who do a great job bringing up their kids; they are also totally unfair on the vast majority of law-abiding young people who work hard at school, play by the rules and, in my experience, deeply resent these attacks.”
I think you’ll find that the majority of hard working parents actually feel the same and actually fear for their children in the current climate.
I think that you need to really look at your article and the statement that you are making. You cannot deny that there is a huge amount of work that the current government needs to put in to making this country a worthwhile place to live, work and bring up a family. And it doesn’t all revolve around children services which your article suggests.
"Stabbings, kids having kids, people with no work ethic "
etc.etc.
nail on the head.
"it doesn’t all revolve around children services which your article suggests." I agree. A layer of society is not functioning.
That's not Labour cultivating such a culture, but the Tories forcefully creating one to fiddle their own stats.
I'm not saying Labour couldn't have done more to fix this problem (though you'd have to be genuinely stupid not to see how hard they've tried) but to suggest it's Labour ignores the facts.