Nobbut Laiking, by Ross Brewster
It was always my view that the priority of any government must be the safety of its citizens.
However the new Labour administration has already run up against the first reality. Our prisons are full. At least they are 98.4 per cent full and, by the end of August, will have totally run out of capacity without urgent action.
Unfortunately that action entails letting thousands of prisoners out early; a reduction in sentences of a further 10 per cent on top of the 50 per cent applicable now in most cases.
With 20,000 ex-prisoners suddenly finding themselves on the streets this hardly marries with protecting victims of crime and keeping the law-abiding public safe.
Admittedly these prisoners will have to be freed eventually in any event. But it’s a kick in the teeth for the many who have suffered as a result of their offending.
So what’s the answer? Is there an answer? Former Prisons Minister Rory Stewart says sentences will have to be made shorter.
I spent many hours sitting in courts during my reporting days. All I can say is it’s jolly difficult to get sent to prison. I saw the same faces of repeat offenders time after time. Yet they never seemed to be sent down. Only the most serious matters ended in jail sentences and then victims often felt they were insufficient.
Sir Keir Starmer said he was “pretty shocked” to learn of the prisons crisis. But politicians of all shades must have known what was coming. The figures are published every week.
This neglect goes back years and now all they can offer is something that will make the public less safe.
“Fixing” the prisons and making Britain’s streets safer was part of Labour’s election manifesto. Simply saying it’s the fault of the previous lot won’t wash. There’s no easy solution to prison overcrowding. But it’s the first meaningful test for our new Government. It will only take one incident where a prisoner on early release commits a shocking crime and all eyes will turn on them and the honeymoon will be over.
Growing pains
A concession to old age I guess. Not one I liked. To be honest it felt a bit embarrassing. One time fell runner, reduced to hobbling along with a stick.
Well not really a walking stick. It is one of those walking poles you see lots of people using in the Lake District. Nordic poles I think they’ve called. They don’t really propel you anywhere, but they do provide a modicum of balance.
I found this one in the boot of the car. I have had it for ages and never thought of taking it out and making use of it. There should really be two of them. What became of its partner I have no idea. I seem to recall being given the poles by a local outdoor shop to write a review about their practicality.
I’ve had a bad year. My walking has become so laboured dear old Captain Tom would be overtaking me if he was still with us.
My back is the issue at present. I can sit and lie down, but standing is a problem and walking especially. I must admit I felt a certain shame using the stick. But age takes us in many ways.
There’s Joe Biden at 81, plainly not fit for purpose. They urged him to go but he refused. At the cricket it’s been Jimmy Anderson’s last Test. He is 41 and still fit. He plainly felt he could go on, but the selectors want to try some newer young bowlers.
So one hangs on against all reason, the other leaves with due humility while at the top of his game. Ageing can be a complicated business because one size does not fit all.
In one breath you read about stopping people driving when they get to 75, yet there’s an 85-year-old who races motorbikes and is obviously fit to drive.
This all brings me back to my walking pole. It doesn’t feel right somehow, but needs must. Ageing can be mental as well as physical. It’s this old thing about fighting old age or living with it and adapting to it.
Bend it like Beckham, not Geller
Perhaps the man I need is spoon bender Uri Geller. He claims a few miraculous interventions in his life, not least inspiring England footballer Ollie Watkins’s boots during the European Championships.
Geller is an Exeter City fan and it was Watkins whose goals put Carlisle United out of the League Two play-offs a few years back. Didn’t Uri claim a foot in that one, too?
It could be, of course, that Watkins is a good footballer and is in no need of Mr Geller’s bunkum.
Integrity went down the pan
Cheek of the week. The water companies who are going to increase our bills by 21 per cent over the next five years. Ofwat, the regulator, thinks we should actually be grateful.
Companies that failed to invest in infrastructure have piled up profits and paid handsome dividends while our rivers, lakes and seas have become polluted with sewage. They should be paying us.
