The John Goodbody of Portsmouth/Wimbledon,UK. Work in marketing helping brands sell stuff. Rather passionate about importance of UK manufacturing and trade
This moment will haunt Pam Bondi for the rest of her life.
It has been memed into infinity, because it so perfectly captures the craven, humiliating failure that was her tenure as Attorney General.
Children smashing up shops in broad daylight, stealing and even filming themselves doing it as if it were a game, is a much bigger problem than is being recognised. This is a total collapse of consequences.
To those making snide comments about race or black kids - you do not see scenes like this in Lagos or Nairobi. Not because the children there are different, but because actions have consequences. There are clear boundaries. Parents, communities, and the authorities do not wring their hands or look the other way.
Here, we have created a culture where too many young people believe they can do what they like and nothing will happen. That is the problem.
And we should be honest about where that leads. If a child loots a shop today, films it for social media, and faces no real consequence, they are going to do much worse tomorrow.
This is why under my leadership Conservatives are focusing on ENFORCEMENT, not just making more and more rules.
Our Take Back Our Streets Campaign is about getting 10,000 more police officers, immediate justice and immediate punishment. But let’s be honest, this is not just a policing issue. It is a failure of authority at every level.
Parents need to know where their children are and what they are doing. Discipline should start at home, not in a courtroom.
We have also weakened the system around them. Deterrence is the backbone of criminal justice. Labour have changed the law so anyone receiving a sentence under 12 months will automatically walk free, instead receiving a suspended sentence. When people believe offences like this will not lead to meaningful punishment, we should not be surprised when more of it happens. You get more of what you tolerate.
It’s not like we haven’t been here before. In 2011, when riots spread, the Conservative response was swift and visible. People saw consequences. And behaviour rapidly changed. That is what is missing now.
This all comes down to fairness. Law-abiding people should not feel like fools while gangs smash and grab without consequence. The sad truth is the communities most damaged by this behaviour are often the very ones these young people come from.
Only one approach will fix this: clear rules, real consequences, and the confidence to enforce them.
It’s time to Take Back Our Streets and bring back a culture of enforcement.
The current state of the Royal Navy:
2 aircraft carriers — neither operational.
6 Type 45 destroyers (our most powerful warships) — one operational (in Cyprus).
7 Type 23 frigates (less powerful, much older) — three operational
5 Astute class nuke-powered subs — one operational (in Arabian Sea?).
Surely those responsible for this appalling state of unreadiness (a national embarrassment if ever there was one)— political, civilian and military — should be fired/charged.
Their incompetence has effectively left us without a navy.
Quite an achievement for an ancient island nation.
You want the NATO allies to join you in a war you started without ever consulting these allies about the war or explaining your war aims. We’re meant just to meekly fall in line.
You recently supported a US invasion of a NATO ally (Denmark/Greenland) but now you want these same allies to join your war.
Your president disparaged and misrepresented the role of NATO allies in Afghanistan. But now you want them to join with you again in a war of your making.
You went to war with Iran without a thought of how to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and without involving your allies in the matter. But now you want the NATO allies to bail you out, even though there’s still no plan for Hormuz.
You want the NATO allies to join you in a war in which you still cannot articulate the endgame. Or what victory would look like.
You went to war thinking the Iranian regime would quickly topple, that Tehran would not attack the Gulf States or close Hormuz. Why would we align with such Epic Stupidity?
You and other know-nothing blowhards started this war all on your own. You can finish it on your own. If you’re able to …
Trump on Iran: “They weren't supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked”
My God. Anyone who knows the region expected this.
So with a surface fleet of only 15 — most of which are in various stages of maintenance — why does the Royal Navy still have 40 ‘core’ Admirals (Rear Admiral and above)? Almost three per ship seems a bit excessive since each ship presumably has a Captain …
Let this sink in.
Four years ago, the US expected Ukraine to fall within days and even withheld military aid because they thought it’d be wasted. Today, the US — the most powerful nation on earth — is asking Ukraine for military aid.
Never underestimate Ukraine. Arm them to win.
Suddenly, its turns out that it is not smart to arrogantly shit on an ally that has learned how to down 200 Shaheds every single night and then wipe out and oil refinery or a military airfield with a handful of cheap drones.