Austerity

[Gandalf]

Yes Master all spot on mate the blame rests with the Tories no doubt.
I work for local authority as you know it has been devastated by cuts.
Education social services to name but a few roads etc the list goes on.
Bloody Tories just renamed cuts as austerity every time they are in power they cut nothing new.

Another thing is youth clubs being closed. I attended these clubs as a kid but kids have very little to do, unless you have rich parents, so can get caught up in trouble.

I hate that excuse. I was poor but worked while at secondary school and thus always had my music and books. School always had sports clubs and you and your friends could always rustle up a cricket bat, wickets and a ball. All you need is a football and parks are a plenty too. There is nothing stopping kids from studying hard or having fun even if poor.

It is not an excuse.

Austerity has led to cuts in public services. In my city we had local youth clubs, mines was at a local church and we would play football, table tennis, pool and hang out there. Now they decided to close all the clubs and have one in the city centre which is too far for them to go and you are more liable to meet people that are up to no good.

There has always been knife crime but the increase in it and at such a pace means that austerity must have something to do with it. Typically the government have increased the number of police but other services need funding which can divert children away from crime and into more productive lives.

I am sorry, but I disagree about the need for 'youth clubs'. I never had youth clubs and I was one of those wild eyed terrors without a father, except I was bookish and disciplined with my morning money making. I had friends to play sports with, books to read, games to play, a bike to ride. It certainly did not result in any stabbing and the government wasn't buying our cricket bats or telling us what to do. GOOD PARENTS are the best way to divert children into healthy productive lives, not the government. If you want to play pool, then go to a pool hall. If you want to play football, then go to a park. It isn't complicated.

Are you telling me without government support you could not play football, cricket, or any of these things? I don't think it is on the government to provide entertainment for kids. I think kids make their own fun and if they cannot have fun without stabbing one another, then they belong in prison or if on a second passport, a good old deportation.