Agreed. According the the article, Labour is 'stealing' Conservative ideas, much like what Clinton did. They are apparently finding that the public doesn't much care to live in constant fear of endless crime and violence in their communities. The British Left, however, apparently is set to embrace the criminals in a loving hug, even if it means losing elections for the foreseeable future, much like the Dems here in the USA.
The EU is a dark cloud hanging over the whole matter, potentially preventing hardnosed legislation:
"MR Clarke said yesterday it was “feasible” for offenders doing community service to wear distinctive orange uniforms.
But last night legal experts said “shaming” uniforms would be illegal under the proposed Euro Constitution, which bans “degrading treatment”.
This whole matter will be debated through November 2006 and the end result will likely be only a pale image of what's being proposed today, much like grand plans on this side of the pond. Hopefully Conservatives will be able to torpedo anything that's too Orwellian, but I'm hearing that one of the biggest concerns of Britons is immigration, just like it is here. They, however, are up to their eyeballs in it in a far worse way than we are over here and so it will be very interesting to watch this all play out.
I've heard about immigration concerns - particularly from Howard during the election. My assumption has been that their immigration problem (as it is throughout Europe) is Muslim immigration. Is that right?