Hyndburn MP Graham Jones agrees with Prime Minister David Cameron that government cuts did not cause last week’s English city riots.
Labour MP Mr Jones has been an outspoken critic of the Tory government’s austerity measures since he was elected to Westminster last year.
But he claimed the unprecedented riots were fuelled not by poverty or unemployment but by rampant greed, consumerism and disrespect for the community and the rule of law. The Hyndburn MP’s comments echo those of Mr Cameron, who has spoken of the need to tackle the country’s "moral collapse". The Prime Minister has pledged a "concerted, all out war on gangs and gang culture" in response to the riots and said stamping out these gangs should be a new national priority.
However, Mr Jones believes the causes of this collapse can be traced back to Conservative policies from the 1980s.
"These riots had nothing to do with government cuts," said Mr Jones.
"These were to do with a moral breakdown. This has been coming since the day Margaret Thatcher got elected. For 30 years everybody we have lived in a neo-liberal consumerist society where everybody was encouraged to get as much as they could for themselves.We have an underclass who just don’t want to partake in society.
"They want the rights and don’t want the responsibilities or to contribute anything."
And East Lancashire was not immune from trouble, with 50 hooded youths running amok in Bacup on Tuesday, August 9, throwing bricks through shop windows and smashing two bus stops.
The MP thinks the police have lessons to learn from the riots and believes the government was also right to seek advice from former New York ‘supercop’ Bill Bratton.
"The problem was the numbers involved meaning the police were forced to stand back," he said.
"The police should have known the potential for a flash mob and they weren’t prepared for it.
"The speed of events overtook them.
"We should always be open and I think it’s right to listen to what Bill Bratton has to say, but at the end of the day the police have done a fantastic job in this country."
Mr Bratton’s involvement has been heavily criticised by British police chiefs.
