21. Tough on Crime

There are more police on our streets than ever before, up 14,000 since 1997, and crime is falling overall, down 35 per cent. That means four million fewer victims of crime than under the Tories.

Why not take a figure where a direct comparison can be made of our record? The homicide rate is one of the most accurate long-term measures of crime, because the offence is almost always reported to police and its definition - the taking of someone else's life - has not changed. Since 1997, the number of homicide victims, including solved and unsolved cases, has averaged 737 per year. In the period from 1990 to 1996, the average was 601. A rise under Labour of 23%, but that's not all. Deaths by stabbing have averaged 228 a year since 1997, up nine per cent from their former level. Fatal shootings average 69 a year, up 18 per cent. The number of victims poisoned, drugged, punched or kicked to death has also risen, but the number strangled or beaten with a blunt instrument has declined. Labour; tough on stranglings and bludgeonings.