Reform boss Nigel Farage said this week what other politicians haven’t had the balls to say in a long time: given the spiralling cost of crime, “it isn’t really a question of can we afford to do this, it’s really a question of we can’t afford not to do this”. Quite! When a Labour source said – in response to Farage’s criminal justice strategy – the Reform leader’s plans were “unfunded and lack detail” and that “we are getting on with it”, we can confidently call BS.
When so much crime in Britain goes unreported and uninvestigated, who cares what the official statistics say. The perception of lawlessness stalks Britain’s cities as London transforms into a gangster’s paradise. Farage wants to change that. Among eye-catching proposals such as hiring another 30,000 police officers, putting stop and search where knife crime is prevalent and implementing a zero tolerance policy to shoplifting, Farage wants to follow America and send criminals abroad, perhaps El Salvador in Latin America.
For too long foreign criminals in British prisons have hidden behind human rights to avoid being sent home. Farage seems to be the only political leader willing to change this. In return, the Brexit champion said, the UK would take back UK offenders incarcerated overseas. However, he warned, if said countries are still reluctant “we’ll make it very straightforward. We’ll just end travel.”
To draw on personal experience, I live in Singapore. Here, as in Japan and Korea, street crime is virtually nil. True, part of this owes to Asia’s communitarian culture. But much is due to a properly enforced criminal justice system. The Left cries: “What about freedom?” Well, what about the freedom for the law-abiding majority to go unmolested from assault and theft on the streets? As for foreign crooks, they should know the score: misbehave and you’ll be back home by teatime.
Another thing Farage gets right is cost. Singapore is made attractive for overseas firms and expat workers precisely because it is safe. There is clearly a strong economic base for strict law enforcement. The accountants need to stay at home when it comes to making the streets safe. As the Reform leader argued, the UK cannot afford not to do this. Money should not be the primary factor and this is no time to waste time. Only one political leader seems ready to make Britain safe again.