Policy Announcements, Wednesday 22 August

Government  

• Troublemakers causing or contributing to alcohol-related crime or disorder can be excluded from places such as a town centre or village green for up to 48 hours by police, under a new power coming into force today.
  The new 'Direction to Leave' power is another tool to support the Government's aim to end the culture of binge drinking, discourage unacceptable alcohol-fuelled behaviour, and tackle effectively such behaviour when it occurs, protecting people from the harm it causes. Practical advice and guidance is being sent to all police forces. This will explain the circumstances when giving a Direction to Leave might be appropriate and the procedure for issuing and recording it.  

Conservatives

• David Cameron has called for a "three-dimensional" approach to fixing Britain's "broken society". Setting out his strategy on youth crime in a speech on Wednesday, the Conservative leader said court reform, policing and social consciousness were key to tackling crime. He said that there should be a roll-out of deterrent measures - such as removing a young offenders' driving licence - to hit young people "where it hurts, in their lifestyle and in their aspirations".  He pointed to recent incidents near the Lancashire police station where he was speaking which highlighted "a real and growing problem throughout our society". "Violence grows in the fertile soil of anti-social behaviour," he said. And he argued that the "little acts of ugliness and aggression" and low-level disorder such as litter and vomit on the streets "caused the community to retreat".
• The Conservatives want to co-operate with Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy on "lots of areas" despite disagreements over the need for a referendum on the EU treaty, a frontbench spokesman has said. Shadow Europe minister Mark Francois told ePolitix.com centre-right parties across Europe should be working together on issues like economic competitiveness. David Cameron has appeared isolated in Europe following the Conservative withdrawal from the European Parliament's EPP centre-right grouping.