The 2001 and 2005 elections were about the economy. They were about how well Labour had done with it. Why bother voting Tory if Labour can manage the economy? Labour said “We can look after the economy and be nice at the same time. “.
But while voters were merrily voting Labour back in, time and again, basking in the new economic paradigm which Gordon Brown had created, they seemed to fail to notice what was going on beneath the surface. Not only was the economic miracle a sham, but serious reforms were going on unnoticed.
One such reform is neatly explained here:
A 16-year-old girl with a mental age of eight is lured to an empty house in London by an 18-year-old man. Once in the flat, the man calls his mates and a group of them turn up. Then three of them rape her, giggling and filming the attack on their mobile phones. When they are finished, they pour caustic soda over her body in an attempt to destroy forensic evidence.The girl screams with pain – later, on some of the mobile phone footage, the attackers can be heard laughing at this – and eventually lapses into a coma. For a while, doctors think she will die. She survives, but the skin has ‘sloughed off’ her face and body, and has permanent scarring to 50% of her body. A year on, she cannot control her own temperature and suffers from depression, flashbacks and suicidal thoughts.
When arrested, her attackers plead not guilty, so she has to sit, trembling, in the witness box to relive her ordeal for a jury.
When the three men are found guilty, Judge Shaun Lyons talks mighty tough. “The victim has been left with severe post traumatic stress disorder and many, many physical difficulties,” he says. “It is doubtful what form her life will take and whether she can operate fully as a young woman in the future.” According to press reports, at least one of them Muaimba can ‘be seen smirking in the dock’. Then Lyons hands down the sentences.
Rogel McMorris, 18, from Tottenham, North London, is jailed for nine years for rape and grievous bodily harm. Jason Brew, 19, from Haringey, North London, and Hector Muaimba, 20, from Waltham Forest, East London, receive six years for rape.
Despite the economy, crime and hundreds of smaller-scale gripes, about a third of people tell pollsters that they would vote Labour if there was an election tomorrow. This is down from the 40-odd percent who voted Labour last time and the time before and the time before, but it is still a significant proportion. Is this was they voted for? Is it really? The posters were right all along: New Labour, New Danger.
I don’t think we’ve had such a dangerous government since Queen Mary. If any of my readers are partly responsible for it, then take a gold star and feel proud of yourself.
Nope didn’t vote Labour.
Such a sad story, dreadful. But the sentencing?? They’ll be out in 2-3 yrs! WTF is going on in the courts?
I heard on the radio yesterday that some chap got “life” for murder. He got 9 years.
I don’t understand.
The maximum sentence for sexual assault is 14 years. 14 years! These gang-rapists didn’t even get the maximum.
Its a hot potato for an opposition.
Dave does well with his broken society, but can’t be stronger or else the charge of evil, unfeeling Tories, blind to the plight of the poor, who want to string ‘em all up.
Its too easy to do. Media gives a very easy ride to liberal crime policies.
In the street anyone who promised a new “minimum 20 years for rape or murder” would get great support. But it could be so easily taken apart.
The economy has forced everything from the agenda, even knife crime which was a top paper seller back in the summer.
Once the election starts I can see Mr Pickles getting hundreds of these sorts of terrible stories together; some Shannon Matthews and baby P stories and asking
“Tough on Crime? Tough on the causes of Crime?” 12 years of abject failure.
I didn’t vote at the last General (the first in which I was of voting age). I would have voted Tory (uninspiring as IDS was) but at the time I was 4 months through a 6 month round-the-world trip.
So I’m taking no responsibility. You guys did this to yourselves. And to me.
BQ if your comment genuinely reflects “party thinking” then the Tories do not ever deserve power either. These issues aren’t ones of political positioning and presentation. If we don’t have law and order what do we have? Anarchy.
Stu don’t blame me!
I wasn’t old enough to vote in 1997. I voted in a marginal constituency in both 2001 and 2005. In ’05 I helped an excellent Tory MP to victory. Alas I now live in one of the most rotten of urban Labour seats. I think I might move back to a marginal seat in time for the next vote.
I think the upturn in gratuitous violence IS partly NuLab’s fault. They’re certainly done everying right if their intention is to perpetuate it.
The stupidity you speak of are those on the welfare teat, in government employ … newly immigratted …
Let the wheel come of the economy big time. Then people won’t be able to AFFORD to vote stupidly.
I’d happily kill the fuckers that committed this crime. I wouldn’t hesitate.
Right, so now you are some kind of vigilante. Great.
As you will see from this report, the “front” end of the “justice” system worked fine in this case. It was the “back” end that failed.
“Right, so now you are some kind of vigilante. Great.”
The problem being, when people lose faith in the justice system, they will find their own ‘justice’:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1124103/Fears-vigilante-killing-missing-rapists-body-underground-drain.html
And when a case like the one outlined in your post gets you 2/3 years in jail, how can you be surprised…
Good point from JuliaM, as ever.
The trouble with Kev’s vigilante stance is this:
“The stupidity you speak of are those on the welfare teat, in government employ … newly immigratted … “
He’s not blaming the criminal, the person who did the crime, he’s not blaming the criminal justice system. He’s seeking a scapegoat in his prejudices: those on welfare (like me), in government employ and immigrants. They must have voted for Labour, yes? He doesn’t know how each one of those acts or votes. It’s just prejudice.
And that’s the problem with vigilantes – they don’t want the one guilty of the crime in question, they just want someone who’s guilty and that person may be simply guilty of.. annoying the vigilante in some way. Wrong colour, wrong accent, wrong employment status, wrong job. Wrong according to whom? Well not the law. THAT is the problem.
Sentencing is not really the problem here. The problem that we have is NO FEAR OF PRISON, as this story outlines.
Romanian immigrant raped girl so he could get English lessons in prison
When it gets to the point that our prisons are seen preferable to returning to Romania, then we have problems.
Spanish prisons are not holiday camps. Unless you have a support network supplying you with food and other goods, you are pretty much fu*ked.
You can be on remand for years before your case is even looked at. Believe me, prison is avoided here like the plague.
No gold stars here.
It wasn’t just the back end of the justice system that failed in the case you mention. There were 10 arrests for this crime; three were found guilty but six had their cases dropped for lack of evidence. I don’t know why, of course; this may have been the right decision. But with the reputation of the “Can’t Prosecute Service”, one wonders.
And the tenth? Killed while on remand. So either justice was grossly overdone, or a terrible injustice was done.
Either way, there were at least four failures of justice in this case and possibly ten.
Julia’s point is very valid. Law-abiding types need the justice system to work otherwise the vigilantes start to have an excuse. Philipa is also right, you can’t pigeon-hole voters. Everyone who does vote votes for their own reason on the balance of their own views and circumstances – as usual things are not black+white. Remember lots of people don’t vote at all!
Patently yes, but we’ll never know will we? All I am saying is that these three were found guilty of a heinous crime and have not been punished. Their sentence might be appealed by the A-G but I repeat the the maximum allowed under the sentencing guidelines is only 14 years…
Sue – yes quite right. These particular nasty pieces of work were not poverty-stricken Romanians as far as I know, not that that should make any difference to the price of eggs.
i had a friend call me the other day and tell me of this…i was just shocked…i couldn’t believe a judge wouldn’t hand down the maximum…and what does that say to the girl…and other victims or potential victims? the criminals know exactly what it says and a couple of years with their feet up for a night of torture may be a price they are willing to pay…travesty is what it is…
It does rather raise the question of what would you have to do in order to get the maximum sentence. I can’t see any way in which this could be worse without becoming a more serious offence.
The only offence higher up the scale that I can think of would be attempted murder. That offence is (according to my legal acquaintances) quite hard to prove in court so maybe the prosecutors couldn’t manage it.
I am not sure whether rape+burning her body with caustic soda is much less of an offence than trying to kill her, especially as she might well have died because of it.
“It does rather raise the question of what would you have to do in order to get the maximum sentence. I can’t see any way in which this could be worse without becoming a more serious offence.“
very good point! what was the judge thinking?
I too was appalled at the light sentencing in this case Blue, it beggars belief. I completely agree with Philipa’s comments.
Di.x