Plans to attack organised crime groups and stop the sale of stolen tools at car boot sales have been unveiled by Kemi Badenoch. The Conservative leader has launched a raft of policies to combat rural crime and deal with illegal Traveller camps and fly-tipping.
Under the plans, criminals who steal tools and farm equipment from tradesmen and farmers would receive longer sentences and higher fines. Cash would go to compensate victims for stolen equipment, and surplus funds would support the local police force. A key concern is that high-grade tools and agricultural equipment are sold at car boot sales.
The Conservatives want to “triple stop and search to get weapons and stolen goods off the streets”. This comes alongside plans to remove Traveller encampments by repealing the Human Rights Act to remove obstacles to police action.
The law would also be changed to stop local authorities granting planning permission to developments that have been started without a formal green light. And in a bid to stop fly-tipping, people convicted of the offence would face penalty points on their driving licence.
Mrs Badenoch said: “Every farmer who wakes to find a stolen tractor, every builder who discovers their van stripped bare, every tradesperson left unable to work – they all tell the same story. Hard-working people targeted by criminals who think they can take what others have earned. It’s not just theft. It’s theft of livelihoods.
“It’s vandalism that destroys pride, time, and trust. The Conservative Party will always stand with those who build, fix, and feed our country.”
Praising the “grafters” and the “doers” as “the people who keep Britain running”, she said: “They deserve a Government that has their back, not one that looks the other way.”
Shoaib Awan, who owns The Gas Expert, which operates across Essex, Hertfordshire, London and Kent, said: “As a victim of tool theft, I speak on behalf of thousands of tradespeople across the UK.
“There is no greater injustice than watching hard-working individuals lose their livelihoods and their ability to provide for their families because of rising, unchecked theft.
“Tool theft is not a petty crime, it devastates mental health, destroys small businesses, and undermines the very infrastructure that keeps this country moving.”
He said tool theft leads to “unaffordable insurance premiums” and is met with “a near-total lack of police support”.
Mr Awan claimed “unregulated car boot sales and pawn shops have become safe havens for criminals”.
Ian Elliott, head of security at construction specialists the Clancy Group, agreed the sale of tools stolen by organised crime groups at car boot sales is a “huge problem”.
The Tories are promising dedicated rural police officers as part of a pledge to recruit 10,000 more men and women to the forces. These new officers would be at the heart of “rural crime task forces” to take on organised crime and prevent “farm and equipment theft, poaching, livestock worrying and hare coursing”.
Matt Vickers, the shadow policing minister, said: “My dad and brother are both builders, so I know only too well the direct impact tool theft has on people’s livelihoods. It isn’t just the cost of replacing the tools, it’s disappointed customers and days of lost work.
“This is a practical, tough, common-sense response to a growing problem that backs the builders, the farmers, the plumbers, and electricians who keep Britain running.”
Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “The people who build and feed our country deserve to feel safe and supported.
“With rising crime in rural communities and against tradesmen, it is ever more important that lawmakers work with them to buck this concerning trend.”