Antisocial Behaviour: Hertfordshire

Debate between David Taylor and Gagan Mohindra

Friday 24th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[David Taylor]

I entirely agree, and I would point to some of the visits I have made to businesses in my constituency because, as the hon. Member will know, there are similar themes. It is a slightly different point, but I am grateful that this Government are planning to bring in new measures to crack down on shoplifting, which is also a big problem and often goes unpunished.

Hemel Hempstead, my community, is in a tough position. In January 2024 we were the worst major town in Hertfordshire for antisocial behaviour, with more than 200 reported incidents. The town centre is one of the most dangerous towns in Hertfordshire. Local stakeholders told me just this morning that Dacorum has the highest number of vulnerable children at risk of exploitation from drug dealers and county lines in the county. The overall crime rate in 2023 was 95 crimes per 1,000 people. Damningly, between 2014 and 2024, the crime rate doubled. On the doorstep and at my surgeries, many Hemel residents have asked me why we are in this mess. I tell them that we had a Conservative Government and, until 2023, a Conservative borough council; we have a Conservative county council and Conservative police and crime commissioner, and we had a Conservative MP.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

The hon. Member’s party has been in government for over six months now. What has changed in that time?

[David Taylor]

The hon. Member knows that I try to work with him locally in a constructive way, and I will in future, but the problems that we have in Hemel Hempstead are 14 years in the making. Some of them go back 20 years, because of long-standing issues. It is fair to point out that the people in charge of those issues at the time could have done more to help resolve them. He will know that I am trying to find solutions together and not point the finger or look backwards, but the numbers do not lie.

It is impossible to ignore the indisputable fact that in the time that the Conservatives were in power—14 years nationally and longer locally—local crime has skyrocketed. They ignored anti-social behaviour, cut our police force by 20,000 officers nationally and took 60p out of every pound from local authorities. Objectively, that is why we are where we are. It is their mess, and people in my patch are the ones dealing with it. In the time that the Conservatives were in power, crime in Hemel doubled. I defy anyone to defend that record.

[Mr Mohindra]

The hon. Gentleman is being generous in allowing me to intervene again. Similar to parts of my constituency, Hemel has great transport links. County lines is a relatively new phenomenon, and one of the downsides of our road and train network is that crime is coming out of London. Has he worked with the London Labour Mayor to address those issues?