Labour must show that where we improve lives, we can prevent crime

Boris Johnson’s claim on the north is rapidly approaching its first big trial, and it is in these upcoming local elections that our Labour Party must show its real worth. It is us – the rank and file – not the party leadership in London, which will have to make the first moves to win back the north. What we are up against is a Conservative Party that is determined to reintroduce hard-right policies, and crime is the star of the show for them.

The odds, if we are honest, are stacked against us. We just underwent a huge defeat, in an election in which we didn’t address this issue. Our long-running leadership contest means that there is a distraction at the top as we gear up for the immediate challenge. And a bullish Tory party is getting ready to try and distract voters once again from the unfairness and injustice we see all around us.

We will face a Tory Party eager for a post-Brexit con trick that lets them overlook years of harm while others continue to suffer. We need Labour in power locally, now more than ever. Behind the Boris bluster is the same basic Tory belief: those at the bottom should just work harder, pay more for less and stop complaining.

We in the north know the truth – equality is not spontaneous and if you want social justice you have to make it happen. That is why I and other Labour police commissioners are leading on tackling and preventing the causes of crime and violence. We are doing this because inequality is rife, crucial support systems have been removed and it is our job to pick up the pieces of after ten years of the Tories.

It is we – Labour in local government, police and crime commissioners, mayors and councils – who can show that if we improve lives then we can prevent crime. After a decade of austerity we have seen crime, including violent crime, rise while Tory austerity strengthens its grip. Let’s be clear, despite what the Tories say, we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. That’s an insulting oversimplification that ignores the causes.

Yes, the police should be supported. Yes, we do need more police officers – and let’s not forget it is the Tory cuts that reduced the numbers in the first place – and yes, we do need to get offenders off of our streets. But the police will have to keep going back to those neighbourhoods and make more arrests unless we stop the cycle of violence and crime that leads some people to feel that they have no option but to hit out, to steal, to exploit others.

With a prevention agenda the plan is simple. Early intervention saves lives. The Tories might have closed down our Sure Start buildings but they haven’t destroyed our Sure Start principles. We need to shift the focus, we need to get in early at schools, or with families who come to the attention of services in other ways, and offer dedicated support. We have got to genuinely get tough on the causes of crime.

But – and this is the big challenge for us – those problems are solved by having us, Labour members, in office and turning our values in to action. We as a party have to clarify our position. We must tell a story that shows Labour is the party that can fight and prevent crime and all the while, improve lives. This May is the time to do it. The police commissioner, mayoral and local council elections are vitally important. These roles are vital for moving our people and our movement towards Downing Street.