U.K. Leader Blames Riots on 'Moral Collapse'

U.K. Prime Minister's Promise to Use Policy to Remedy Social Ills Comes Amid Debate Over His Cuts to Police

The Wall Street Journal

By ALISTAIR MACDONALD

LONDON—Prime Minister David Cameron sought to bolster his law-and-order credentials Monday with a speech promising a root and branch review of all government policy to tackle the "slow-motion moral collapse" he believes led to the U.K.'s worst rioting in decades.

Mr. Cameron faces many obstacles in turning round what he described as "broken Britain"—including his government's cuts to police forces, and divisions between the police and government that have erupted since the unrest.

Parts of his tough response are also causing disquiet with his Liberal Democrat coalition partners, whose support he needs to get any proposals moving. Meanwhile, the opposition Labour Party ramped up its criticisms of Mr. Cameron's reactions, splitting the cross party consensus on the riots.

In his speech, Mr. Cameron said that the riots came amid a culture in which people and parents increasingly don't take responsibility for their actions, and that the state has made it harder to impose discipline. Mr. Cameron added that the fear of "stigmatizing" people by addressing head-on topics such as single-parent families has made it more difficult to tackle such issues.

"In this risk-free ground of moral neutrality there are no bad choices, just different lifestyles," he said. He added: " 'Live and let live' becomes 'Do what you please.' "

Many of Mr. Cameron's views on the riots are in line with the post-riots public mood and hit on old Tory themes. In the long-term, the U.K. leader may benefit from his get-tough approach. An ICM Research poll in the Guardian newspaper over the weekend said 45% blamed "criminality on the part of the rioters" for last week's trouble; 28% cited "lack of respect within families and communities" and 8% blamed youth unemployment. About one in three asked by ICM and by fellow pollsters ComRes said they believed Mr. Cameron has handled the response to the riots well.

In the wake of the riots, a softer version of conservatism that Mr. Cameron had earlier sought to push his Conservative Party toward has disappeared. He no longer talks of the need to understand young criminals, as he famously did in a 2006 speech, dubbed his "Hug a Hoodie" address by pundits in reference to the hooded tops often associated with teenage delinquents in Britain.

Instead, on Monday he promised an "all-out war on gangs and gang culture" and a "stronger police presence."

The police and others have complained that a stronger police presence will be harder to achieve with Mr. Cameron's planned cuts to police spending by 20% through 2014-15, ending a decade of growth in police resources. The program already has meant a reduction of about 3,000 police jobs in a round expected by police associations to result in about 14,000 fewer jobs out of the 143,000 working on the service before the cuts began.

About 70% of those polled by ComRes believe the cuts should be reversed.

British police officers also have criticized Mr. Cameron for turning to the U.S. for answers to the violence, and seeking advice from William J. Bratton, the former police chief in New York and Los Angeles.

Critics say American police use more-aggressive tactics than are typically used by British forces. The killing by the British police of Mark Duggan that sparked the first night of riots in North London was the one fatal shooting by British police this year. There have been 17 such killings by police in Los Angeles alone since the start of 2011. Also, Mr. Bratton achieved results in New York with increased police numbers.

Mr. Bratton couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.

The prime minister also talked of harsher punishment for criminals, but did so amid a 23% cost-saving push by the Ministry of Justice, which has advocated reducing the prison population.

The British leader gave a bleak portrayal of parts of U.K. society, under the spotlight after four nights of rioting. "Children without fathers, schools without discipline, reward without effort, crime without punishment, rights without responsibilities, communities without control," he said.

On Monday, Mr. Cameron offered a traditional conservative menu to combat such social ills. "Family and parenting is where we've got to start," he said, though he didn't offer further details.

The government is looking at shaking up the welfare system and, recently, has suggested it is considering halting benefits to people convicted of riot-related offenses. In pursuing his fixes, however, Mr. Cameron may find trouble bringing the Tories' coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, on board.

"The key point we are making is the government response needs to be carefully considered rather than a knee-jerk reaction," said Tom Brake, a Liberal Democrat lawmaker.

Mr. Brake said Conservative efforts to deprive some rioters' entire families of public housing, and proposals to cut off benefits to them were, in particular, causing concern across the Liberal Democrat Party.

Mr. Cameron also announced expansion of his National Citizenship Service, the equivalent of a voluntary, nonmilitary National Service, to take in 30,000 young people next year, in an effort to instill a sense of civic responsibility.

The prime minister also decried increasing health-and-safety and human-rights regulations that he said can lead to a "twisting and misrepresenting of human rights in a way that has undermined personal responsibility."

The U.K. is trying to persuade the European Union to make changes to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ed Miliband, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, accused Mr. Cameron of turning to gimmicks for the answers.

"A prime minister, who used to say the answer was to hug a hoodie, now says the answer is to reform our health and safety laws," he said in a speech that began as the prime minister finished.

Write to Alistair MacDonald at alistair.macdonald@wsj.com