David Cameron wages war on Deadbeat Dads who refuse to look for work



Pledge: David Cameron says he will tackle family breakdown, lawlessness, violence and classroom chaos

Deadbeat dads who spend all day at the pub instead of looking for work will face a tough crackdown if David Cameron becomes Prime Minister.

Writing in today’s Mail on Sunday, the Tory leader says that teenagers will also get compulsory lessons on how to say ‘no’ to sex and there will be measures to reduce violence against women.

The pledges – the latest phase of his campaign to mend ‘Broken Britain’ – aim to tackle the ‘dark side’ of family breakdown, lawlessness, violence and classroom chaos.

Mr Cameron says the Tories will rip up laws they believe have encouraged feckless behaviour, including giving higher welfare handouts to couples who split up.

He promises that those who behave responsibly will be rewarded, while those who do not would receive lower benefits. Anyone who breaks the law will also face longer prison sentences.

Mr Cameron’s comments herald a series of announcements by the Tories this week on schools, law and order, and welfare.

He says the ‘darker side’ of Britain was exposed by the murder of Sukhwinder Singh, who was murdered in East London after chasing two muggers.



He writes: ‘Gordon Brown says we don’t live in a broken society. Sukhwinder may have suffered its most horrific expression, but there are many other victims too.’

They include ‘pensioners who live in fear behind bolted doors; teenagers who have a baby but no GCSEs; kids who are more likely to see their dad drunk than doing a day’s work; and the one in four women suffering domestic abuse at some point in their life’.

And he claims Labour has made things worse by ‘undermining personal and social responsibility’.

Mr Cameron’s tone is in stark contrast to the ‘hug a hoodie’ message he sent out when he first became Tory leader.



It comes after private Conservative polls found that although party members approve of his modern and compassionate style, they also want him to show the ruthless streak needed to get to grips with society’s deep-rooted problems.

Earlier this month, Mr Cameron admitted he had ‘messed up’ by giving mixed signals over his previous commitment to giving married couples a better deal from the tax system.

Today, he reiterates that couples who stay together will no longer get lower welfare payments than those who separate.

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Single mothers with part-time jobs who take on extra work will also no longer see more of their pay grabbed by the State.

And headteachers will be given new powers to expel rowdy pupils and carry out searches for weapons and drugs.

Mr Cameron proposes a reform to schools’ national curriculum to include lessons about sexual consent – with an emphasis on ‘empowering’ young people to say ‘no’ to sex.

And he intends to import New York-style police techniques whereby officers make visits to homes where wives live in fear.

Home Office statistics show a case of domestic violence is reported to police every minute, while two women each week are killed by a current or former partner.



