I am pleased to respond to Councillor King’s letter in the News of August 17 about the Liberal Democrats’ policy on drugs.

Our party has been absolutely unequivocal in maintaining a policy of criminalising the use of hard drugs.

I agree with Coun King that the scourge of drugs has blighted parts of the borough.

This is closely associated with other "inner city problems" like high levels of crime, poor housing, domestic violence, and high levels of mental illness and domestic violence.

But the last eight years of the Labour Government’s policies on drugs and crime have been ineffective and indeed counterproductive.

The Government’s drug tsars have come and gone, yet problems of drugs and crime continue to escalate. Prison numbers rise inexorably.

Even the Lord Chief Justice Lord Wolf has called for a new approach to law and order based on finding solutions to problems this has much to commend it. Liberal Democrats want more police to prevent crime, to deal with crime when it occurs and to stop drug trafficking at our ports of entry.

Many more offenders (including those with drugs problems) should be given community service and treatment sentences if we are to break the cycle of crime, prison and more crime.

Liberal Democrats do debate difficult social problems like drugs in the public arena so as to find new and better solutions.

This means that genuinely differing views get expressed and explored.

Perhaps New Labour should allow a bit more open debate rather than carry on with outdated and ineffective policies?

Jeremy Ambache

Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Putney in 2005

Published in WBN - Friday 26th August 2005