Anti-social behaviour has not been taken seriously by successive UK governments since Sir Tony Blair, former communities secretary Lord Michael Gove has said.
The ex-Tory minister criticised “pushback” during Lord David Cameron’s coalition government, in which he served, against the so-called “respect agenda” driven by the New Labour government in the 2000s.
In an evidence session of the new cross-party Independent Commission on Community Cohesion, Lord Gove said the presence of anti-social behaviour was diminishing “pride in place” for communities.
“Everything from the public consumption of drugs through to the inadequate street lighting, through to the absence of authority figures, whether uniformed or not, on our streets – all of them come together, and also the fact that the police will either not prosecute or pursue a number of crimes, from shoplifting to public drug consumption, to examples of rowdiness and raucousness,” he said.
“So, that’s one of the first things to deal with. And I don’t think, looking back, the issue’s been taken sufficiently seriously since Tony Blair, actually, if I’m honest.”
Lord Gove, who served as communities secretary under the premierships of both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, added: “And during the coalition years there was a sort of slight pushback against Asbos (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders) and the respect agenda, from a sort of civil libertarian point of view.
“And I can see that, but it got things wrong. It’s not where the public were, and certainly not where they are now.”
The Blair government introduced a series of measures aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour, including the Asbo, which formed the key plank of its “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” approach to law and order.
The clampdown was popular with voters but critics argued the orders had limited success due to high breach rates, and they were replaced in England and Wales with civil injunctions and criminal behaviour orders in 2014.
Injunctions are in turn due to be partially replaced with Asbo-style “respect orders” under the current Labour Government, which says the move will make a wider range of penalties available to authorities.
Lord Gove also told the commission there were other issues affecting pride in place, like the importance of civic participation, which it would be “very, very difficult for the state or its agencies to encourage”.
He said: “The more that lads and dads are going to football together. The more that people are going to places of worship and joining in the activities around that, the better overall.
“But you can’t make people love football, you can’t enforce good parenting, you can’t make people want to take part in a rich civic life if they don’t want to.
“And there are bigger social trends which are encouraging atomisation so that the 11-year-old who might have been going to watch QPR (Queen’s Park Rangers) 20 or 30 years ago is now more likely to be playing Fifa at home.”
He said the “right mix” of shops on high streets was key to encouraging a sense of community, adding that “people feel that high streets that have, again, vape shops, Turkish barbers, charity shops and voids in particular are a problem”.
The commission, chaired by Tory former home secretary Sir Sajid Javid and former Labour MP Jon Cruddas, was set up with the aim of tackling community divisions across Britain in the wake of last summer’s riots.
It is being facilitated by the Together Coalition founded by Brendan Cox, the husband of the Labour MP Jo Cox who was murdered by a far-right extremist, and will develop a series of recommendations for measures to build social cohesion.
Although not officially Government-sponsored, the commission has been supported the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
