His article about the riots is the most sensible commentary I've read in ages.

Since it's behind the paywall, could you post a quote or two JK?

I think he is basically a sound chap, but unfortunately he sometimes gets caught up in the Tory 'hard talk' soundbytes, tho I think his heart is mostly elsewhere.

Here you are David...

We cannot arrest our way out of these riots

Iain Duncan Smith

September 15 2011 12:01AM
Social stability means jobs and families, hope and aspiration, not just law and order

Last month’s riots were a reminder that we live in a divided society, with a destructive minority apparently detached from notions of right and wrong. Our first response is to condemn their actions unreservedly. This was criminal activity, and it is right that it has been treated as such in the courts. But this response will only take us so far. As people start to repair their damaged homes and businesses, we must also take steps to fix our damaged society.

As a London MP I’ve seen first-hand the way deep-rooted social problems have been allowed to fester in our poorest communities, which is why I set up the Centre for Social Justice. In my work there I visited dysfunctional communities around the country, many of which had become fertile grounds for drug dealers, gang recruiters and violent moneylenders. It is little wonder when you consider the way these areas have been blighted by welfare dependency over the years: we have almost one in five households where nobody works and almost two million children living in workless households.

For years now too many people have remained unaware of the true nature of life on some of our estates. This was because we had ghettoised many of these problems, keeping them out of sight of the middle-class majority. Occasionally some terrible event would make it on to our front pages, but because they were small in number people were able to turn away from the problem. But last month the inner city finally came to call, and the country was shocked by what it saw.

While the riots had an appalling impact, we must recognise that they represent a deeper problem. First, they are a symptom of a breakdown of traditional structures of support. This was expressed in the role of the gangs that, though small in number, appear to have played an important part in co-ordinating the violence. In many ways gangs act to fill a vacuum left by other figures of authority, particularly the family. What our young people are failing to find at home they seem to be searching for on the streets. While the gangs draw on children from broken homes they also destroy neighbourhoods by driving out businesses and decent people.

Second, the riots showed that a vacuum of authority often goes hand in hand with a distorted morality. We saw this in the opportunists who took the absence of police protection as an open invitation to steal, and then proudly displayed their stolen goods on the internet. It seemed it was only the fear of being caught, rather than any sense of right or wrong, that had stopped them doing it before.

So while we have to be tough on the perpetrators and on the gangs, we also have to ask ourselves what lies behind this. We cannot simply arrest our way out of these riots. We also need a robust social response that members of all political parties can sign up to.

First, we need to look at how we prevent people from joining gangs in the first place, as well as how we intervene to get them out. From intervening early to support parents with young children, to restoring discipline and autonomy in our classrooms and schools, we have to ensure that young people have the support networks they need throughout childhood. I think there is a big role for the voluntary sector here, and we’re investing £30 million over the next three years to support innovative organisations that can turn young people’s lives around.

At the same time, we have to ensure that those leaving school are met by a welfare system that works and doesn’t make it more worthwhile to sit on benefits than to take productive employment. That’s why we’re simplifying the welfare system so that work pays, as well as providing a tailored package of support to help people to find employment.

And sitting behind all of this is the role of the family, which is vital. We will be applying a family test to all domestic policy from here on, and we need to look more closely at how we tackle disincentives for people to form strong and stable couples.

But the riots are not just about those at the bottom. The “distorted morality” I mentioned has permeated our whole society, right through to the very top. Whether in the banking crisis, phone hacking or the MPs’ expenses scandal, we have seen a failure of responsibility from our leaders. There is no excuse for rioting and looting, but a culture of “do what I say” rather than “do what I do” is unsustainable.

For too long the political class have understood that we have a social problem, but considered it a second-order issue. The riots have provided a moment of clarity for all of us, a reminder that a strong economy requires a strong social settlement, with stable families ready to play a productive role in their own communities. The challenge of our generation is to reforge our commitment to reform society so that we can restore aspiration and hope to communities that have been left behind.

Iain Duncan Smith is Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Indeed far sighted for a man considered on the right wing of the party.

JK2006 wrote:

Social stability means jobs and families, hope and aspiration, not just law and order

Agreed ... he's saying exactly what I have been saying for years - we cannot continue to allow these people to waste their education and then expect us to support them (and their offspring) for life.