no disrespect to ms sarpong, but that’s not a sentence i thought i’d be writing this week.

today i’ve been researching her pet project, politics and the city, for something i’m writing for popgadget (coming soon!) and i came across her blog.

i was gratified by what june had written about knife crime, which is the most sensible and real thing i’ve read of all the many (many!) things i’ve read and heard on the subject recently.

she says:

“When I hear both David Cameron and Gordon Brown talk about tougher sentencing for knife crimes, I can’t help but wonder why neither of them are focusing sufficiently on what we can do to ensure these young people don’t carry knives and, more importantly, don’t use them.

It seems to me there is an erosion of the moral compass of these knife-wielding youngsters which, at it’s core, stems from an immense lack of self-esteem. This has desensitised them from caring about their own lives and therefore they do not value the lives of others.

We live in a society of instant gratification, which teaches its young to act on impulse. It’s imperative that we create a framework where disenfranchised youth realise that crime and violence are not the only options and that there are serious consequences to harming or indeed taking another life.

We need a much more effective state education system which not only demands excellence from its pupils but also focuses on their emotional wellbeing. This is a problem that we must tackle together as a nation - irrespective of race, class or region.”