An Ealing Conservative councillor and Mayor of London hopeful has demanded cops and knife arches be placed in London's schools.
Joy Morrissey wants to go up against Sadiq Khan in the 2020 mayoral race and has argued for the temporary emergency measure to protect children like her daughter Cara from violence.
The pro-Brexit politician is well known after threatening MP Rupa Huq with legal action following allegations in Labour leaflets that she actively campaigned for Brexit and voted for Ealing hospital's closure.
Speaking to The Sun , she said: "I look at knife crime - I'm a mother - and I think keeping our streets safe is paramount for me. I want to see a policeman put into secondary schools, I would like to see knife arches brought back, and a more joined-up approach to tackling this.
"We need to make people feel safe - but also let them know there are consequences. It needs to be a preventative measure across the board so that people can come to school and feel safe."
Cllr Morrissey, who insists she would be "tough on crime", wants more police officers on the streets, to link the Met with other nearby police forces and a “gang register” to track criminals trying to lure kids into running drugs for them.
She said: "They are not going to be glamorous tasks but I’m going to hold the Mayor to account on this and make our streets safe again.”
Cllr Morrissey's other campaign promise centres around housing, a key concern for younger voters, who are statistically more likely to vote Labour.
She said: "We need to show we’re a party that can deliver that hope and aspiration. Tackling the housing crisis, giving my generation a place on the housing ladder and a secure place to live would be a great place to start."
She wants to work with pension funds to build more affordable homes, linking rent increases to inflationary increases of 3-5% per year and creating a “bank of shared ownership” to help young Londoners get financing.
The latest west London knife crime news
A spokesman for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "All the Tory Mayoral contenders know that Theresa May's £1bn cuts to the Met police have left London’s police service with its hands tied behind its back when it comes to tackling violent crime. It’s ridiculous that none of them will admit it.
"They also know that Brexit will cause huge damage to Londoners’ jobs and prosperity – which makes it all the more staggering that they all back Brexit. The Tories are failing Londoners worse than ever."
The successful Conservative candidate for the Mayoral race will be announced at the Tory’s annual party conference in Birmingham next month.
