Another weekend has gone by and another gunshot is ringing out through the media. Is the fact that youths are walking around with guns in London such great and unexpected news, or is it the horrific nature of some of these incidents that has awoken the wider public to a perpetual problem? However tragic the events of the last few weeks, even more tragic in many ways, is the immediate and conservative response to them by the Labour government.

The political phenomenon of the 21st century continues as Labour becomes more conservative and the Conservative leadership proposes to tackle social issues. Whereas David Cameron (no doubt to the great displeasure of some of his backbenchers) has called for an intervention into the break-up of families on the ‘rough’ estates typical of South London, the Prime Minister sees no alternative but to ‘toughen up on crime’ and increase the penalties.

Denying any social factor behind drugs and violence amongst the bored youth of London, Blair called for the mandatory five-year prison sentence for gun-crimes to be increased in his interview for BBC1 last Sunday. But does Mr. Blair seriously think that young wannabe gangsters, harvesting ASBOs with pride and carrying weapons as proof of being ‘hard’, are really going to lay down their guns and run-off to school because they risk a few more years in prison? I think not. If anything, the new measures may render gun-carrying even more attractive.

Once again, the government is missing an opportunity to use wide public awareness of a serious problem to tackle serious social causes of youth crime in this country’s concrete jungles. Both David Cameron and Tony Blair are looking at a painting and debating about the colour of the frame. Although the problem may marginally lie in the break-up of families and even less so in a restriction on police powers, the real solution is providing recreation, better schooling, sports and general motivation to direct the wild fluctuations of testosterone towards more peaceful and productive activities than on imitating the widespread gun culture of the US. Higher custodial sentences will only propagate the stereotype attached to firearms, and send more confused youths lacking meaningful direction, on a destructive path. Downing Street must realise this, acknowledge it publicly and react proportionately to prevent more bloodshed.