'Ban yobs from driving'

Yobs will have their driving licences confiscated under new Conservative plans to tackle hooligans.

Michael Howard launched the first full day of general election campaigning with a drive for the law-and-order vote.

With all three main parties homing in on voter concerns about street crime, the Tory leader stole a march in a speech promising tough action. He unveiled figures showing almost half of anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) are breached by offenders, many of whom get away with it. Criticising the flagship Labour measure as ineffective because the only alternative is prison, which the courts are often unwilling to impose, he said a Conservative government would empower magistrates and judges to suspend the driving licences of those who flout Asbos.

Under-17s who are too young to drive legally would be punished by having their right to apply for a driving licence postponed for up to a year. The aim is to give unruly youths a punishment that hurts their pride and affects their lifestyle, while falling short of a ruinous jail sentence.

Speaking in London today, Mr Howard demanded: "What does it say about our society that we let a small minority of people stick two fingers up to the law? We are one country, one nation - everyone should have to play by the same rules.

"But in Mr Blair's Britain no one seems prepared to take a stand, to hold these arrogant yobs to account for their appalling behaviour."

Labour was today focusing on the economy, but tried to turn the lawandorder issue against the Conservatives by blaming them for the imminent collapse of the Government's ID cards Bill. A Labour spokesman said: "The big lawand-order story is that the Tories are blocking ID cards."

But in a fierce skirmish the Tories retorted that the Bill was only falling because of Mr Blair's decision to call an election more than a year earlier than he needed to, which meant it had run out of debating time in Parliament.

Mr Howard's new law-and-order plan also targets parents who fail to bring up their children to respect the law.

? Headteachers would be able to require parents to sign binding homeschool contracts detailing their duties and rights - including a promise that children must arrive at school punctually, must have completed their homework, and can be punished by detention or other penalties.

? Supervision orders would be used against parents whose children persistently breach Asbos. Similar to curfews, they would require the parents to spend a set time minding their offspring in the home or outside it. Problem families could be banned from visiting certain locations, such as known troublespots.

? Councils would get powers to order troublesome families to give something back to their communities - via measures such as community work or repairing damage to a home vandalised by a yob. Called "reparative justice", the scheme is described as a positive way of reinforcing traditional values of community and respect.

Mr Howard said: "Respect for the law, respect for others and respect for property: these values are at the heart of a successful and decent society. The vast majority of people accept that.

"But there is a very small minority in Britain today who do not - yobs whose parents don't take responsibility for their children; yobs whose behaviour ruins local communities; yobs who show no respect for their neighbours."

He added: "Some people think punishment is a dirty word. I don't. We have to draw a clear distinction between right and wrong."

Opinion polls show crime is the second most important issue in the eyes of voters - behind the NHS but ahead of the economy, asylum and education.