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Cameron 'feeds populist paranoia over British youth'
Nicholas Cecil, Deputy Political Editor6 Oct 2009
TV psychologist Tanya Byron today attacked David Cameron for branding Britain a "broken society".
At a conference fringe meeting, she accused the Tory leader of feeding "populist paranoia" and condemned his and Gordon Brown's language amid concerns over unruly teenagers and family breakdown.
Dr Byron, who has presented shows such as Little Angels, told the Children's Society: "Spin phrases... 'yob culture', 'hoodies', buy into stereotypes." She was also scathing about Labour plans for supervised flats for teenage mothers.
Reader views (6)
Byron who? Another Liberal Lefty do-gooder hell bent on destroying our society further in the pursuit of rights for the scum on our streets.
It was Cameron who coined the phrase 'Hug A Hoody', until he was caught in a picture with one of the vermin sticking two fingers up behind his back!
Oh and by the way TV celeby type person, it is NOT paranoia it is a reality. Family men are being kicked to death on their own door steps for asking youths to keep the noise down.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 07/10/2009 11:13
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The real problem lies with boundaries. Those who break them *know* that they are unlikely to be checked or stopped. Of course the majority youth in Britain are not 'scum' or feral. However, the families and the packs that cause problems, cause massive problems for the many in the small shopping precincts and neighborhoods they live in. They literally terrorise others.
Being afraid of breaking social taboos kept even inadequate parents from allowing their children to breach most of the social norms. Those frameworks have gone. There are no consequences for making life a misery to those around you. The relatively small number who do so have massive impact on those around. As we heard at the inquest of the young mother and daughter who were hounded to death two years ago.
- Kath, London, 07/10/2009 10:27
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This is not just rhetoric to "get people's attention" - this crazy paranoia about young people feeds their alienation and causes damage to the "social contract". Remember that most young people are good kids, who work hard and just want a decent future. If we keep demonising young people as feral scum, whatever they do, we are storing up terrible trouble. We need to stop exaggerating the problems out of all proportion to reality and recognise the good in young people. I live in Hackney and work with young people, so please don't patronise me that I don't know what it's like out there. We need to celebrate the positive and give young people a chance.
- Nolan, Londonist, 06/10/2009 13:09
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This has been building over a couple of generations, so you can't blame it all on this government. They haven't help though. Parents also have a lot to answer for, and probably their parents too. I'm sure that removing corporal punishment from schools has ensured kids have no respect for their elders, or anyone else either.
- Dom, London, 06/10/2009 12:56
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The rhetoric is simply used to get people's attention. Anybody, no matter how well qualified, who claims there is not a problem with youth crime and behaviour is barking mad. Manners and respect have all but disappeared in our morally relativist society. More self-discipline would actually make everybody happier.
- Mark, London, 06/10/2009 10:58
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We do live in a broken society. All you have to do is walk down the street. In the time that Labour has been in Government we have seen soaring single mothers and scroungers. I saw two young girls around the age of 7 the other day sitting in the road playing - this was at 9.30 p.m.! where they hell were their parents? On top of that I was too scared to say anything to them. That is what Labout has done! So Tanya perhaps you need to take a walk in the street and take a real look at what is going on!
- Jk, London, 06/10/2009 10:30
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