Labour says government’s illegal migration bill will not work as it is not credible – UK politics live

Good morning. Both main parties believe that antisocial behaviour will be a key issue at the election and this morning, at a PM Connect event, Rishi Sunak will formally announce an antisocial behaviour action plan. It has been well trailed over the weekend and No 10 has now published the details. Here is an extract.

Under the plan, 16 areas in England and Wales will be funded to support either new ‘hotspot’ police and enforcement patrols in areas with the highest rates of antisocial behaviour, or trial a new ‘Immediate Justice’ scheme to deliver swift and visible punishments. A select few areas will trial both interventions, and following these initial trailblazers, both schemes will be rolled out across England and Wales from 2024.

Steve Reed, the shadow justice secretary, says one of the ideas proposed by Sunak, for vicitms to have a say in what work offenders with community sentences have to do, has been announced by Labour already.

In fact, Reed has understated his case. This is a package of measures that seems to have been lifted not from what Labour proposed three months ago, but from what Labour was saying 15 years ago. Sunak says offenders will be made to wear high-vis vests or jumpsuits while doing community sentences. Labour announced a very similar plan in 2008. David Cameron announced his own plans to toughen non-custodial sentences when he was PM, and two years ago Boris Johnsons said he wanted to see offenders in “fluorescent-jacketed chain gangs visibly paying your debt to society”.

In a statement, Reed said the government should have tackled this problem much sooner. He said:

The Conservatives have let antisocial behaviour make people’s lives a misery by slashing neighbourhood police and letting offenders get away without punishment. They have been content to oversee crumbling frontline services meaning these crimes are now plaguing communities, blighting town centres and leaving people feeling unsafe.

Under 13 years of Conservative government, community sentences have plummeted by two-thirds. And now they have finally realised how angry local people are, so once again following where Labour has led by trying to copy our plan on tough community payback.

It is embarrassing that all the Conservatives can come up with is a pilot in 10 areas – covering only a quarter of police forces. They are out of ideas and out of time. What we need is tough action to punish criminals across the country.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.30am: Rishi Sunak gives a speech and takes questions at a PM Connect event in Essex.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

2pm: The SNP announces the results of its leadership contest.

2.30pm: Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

After 3.30pm: MPs debate and vote on the illegal migration bill in the first day of its committee stage.

4.15pm: Gove gives evidence to the Commons levelling up committee on intergovernmental relations.

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