We don't hear a lot about Police Authorities and some say that this is symptomatic of their failure to hold the Police to account. But could it be because they actually do work very well in that triangular relationship between the Force, the Public and the Government?

It's been a highly charged month for parents. In the midst of that annual break from routine - the Summer holidays - when kids are off school and look...

So, let us not respond to this with knee-jerk, authoritarian reactions. Let us take a stance that many in my party would call 'tough liberalism.' This means, yes, the 'stick' of the law (and the need to have and show genuine remorse to victims) but it must also mean the 'carrot' of a second chance, of opportunity, and of help.

PRESS ASSOCIATION -- People convicted of being involved in last week's riots could lose their benefits even if they do not receive a custodial sentenc...

When examining the conduct of the looters over the last three days, the common attitude towards the actions are that it was 'mindless.' Not only were expensive electronics and clothes stores targeted, but specifically products that tend to target young people were stolen from around the country.

There is a lively debate taking place in the UK media between left and right wing commentators as to the causes of the English riots in which hundreds of shops and businesses have been looted.

PRESS ASSOCIATION -- Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has denied rumours of a rift between the Government and police over handling of the riots in Eng...

The riots of the last week in England have been described by David Cameron as 'criminality pure and simple'. Riots are not just criminal outbursts; they have a logic and purpose.

Once the fires are out and the windows are repaired there will be deeper issues to address. We need to have a good hard look at the direction in which our society is heading. What values are being taught to children by parents and schools? Whether values of respecting others and taking responsibility for your own behaviour are being undermined by our media, broadcast, print and social alike? This should not be a political football. These are deep issues which everyone who cares about our country should be able to address in a calm and rational way.

Indeed, what we have seen being played out these past few nights is stark evidence, as if any more were needed, that we are living in two Britains.

A few weeks ago, at the height of the News of the World scandal, I appeared on the BBC's World Have Your Say to talk about how - or if - unfolding eve...

Unfashionable though it is, we need to face some home truths; to love your offspring is to equip them to aspire to a better life than you have and this requires parents to have the moral courage to instil 'character'. The out of touch plea issued by the politicians and police, for parents to control their children, demonstrates how deep rooted this problem is for society. Unfashionable though it is, we need to face some home truths; to love your offspring is to equip them to aspire to a better life than you have and this requires parents to have the moral courage to instil character.

Both main political parties are offering their own version of society described by the Conservatives as the Big Society or by Labour as the Good Society.

It's no surprise that we nice middle-class Liberals are finding our previous unwavering sympathy for the poor and the dispossessed giving way instead to fear, to hatred, to mockery, and to disappointment.

It's not necessarily about poverty but about lack of love and hope; about parents who have lost what it means to provide role models for the next generation.