Yeah, That'll Work....

In an ever-increasing sense of desperation and desire to 'do something' (or rather, be seen to be 'doing something'), one of Labour's ministers has come up with a plan:

Parents of children under 16 who repeatedly break the law should be "named and shamed" and forced to attend classes in how to bring up children, a minister has said.

Ivan Lewis, the minister for care services, said the plan to identify the parents of young troublemakers would help curb anti-social behaviour across Britain.

Yeah, stunning idea, can't fail...

"We need to have a very clear understanding that if your child is out late at night, after dark, under the age of 16, drinking alcohol, doing it repeatedly, making a nuisance of themselves, you are responsible," Mr Lewis, the MP for Bury South, said.

You don't think it might be a bit, err, late by then, Mr Lewis...? Or that the people who brought such a child into the world might not really give two hoots about being shamed in the eyes of society? For that matter, where do you think they are themselves?

You see, you can't systematically dismantle all the apparatus of social control - church, nuclear family, strong social cohesion, national identity, world-class education system, strong and fair justice system - and then whine about parents lacking 'responsibility' when their feral offspring run riot.

The genie is well and truly out of the bottle now.