Note: This is not a hoax. This is what Labour MP David Lammy is really advocating!

David Lammy is a black Labour party member of the British Parliament. He has served in parliament since 2000. Lammy is now a ranking senior MP. When Labour ran the government, he was appointed Minister of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills from 2005 to 2007, and as Minister of State for Culture from 2007 to 2010. He is the son of immigrants from Guyana.

He is presently the Labour party candidate for Mayor of London.

Lammy, who is also a lawyer, wants shoplifting decriminalized for thieves who only steal from major retailers, and leave small corner stores alone.

He says he wants to reduce the penalty for shoplifting from “luxury stores.” Lammy says that the severity of a shoplifting charge should not be based on the value of the goods stolen. It should be based on the value of the assets of the company that the goods were stolen from.

Lammy says his plan will reduce shoplifting in “poor communities” by encouraging shoplifters to venture out into more posh areas to steal.

From UK Mail Online…

In a pamphlet for the Policy Exchange think-tank, Tottenham MP Mr Lammy says: ‘The impact of a £150 theft, for example, would be far greater on an independent corner shop than on Fortnum & Mason, yet this is not reflected under the current Act. ‘It is self-evident that the impact of a £200 theft to a large retailer is much smaller that it would be to a small, independent retailer. ‘Many rightly argue that the seriousness of shoplifting should not be based on the value, but on the impact to the victim.’ … But Mr Lammy, whose constituency was hit by rioting in 2011, insists: ‘As with most types of property crime, the social costs of shoplifting are regressive – they hit poorest communities hardest. ‘Small local businesses in more deprived areas, operating on small profit/loss margins, are least able to absorb the costs of theft and are obliged to pass these costs on to their customers through increased prices.’