The Peter McCormack Show – Episode #057
Guest: Dr. Lawrence Newport
Episode Title: The Collapse of Law and Order
Date: March 11, 2025
Episode Overview
In this engaging episode, Peter McCormack (using his “Con” persona here) sits down with Dr. Lawrence Newport—formerly an academic and now a prominent activist—for a candid discussion on the breakdown of law and order in Britain. The conversation diagnoses the rise in petty and organized crime, the systemic failings of policing and criminal justice, and the deeper symptoms of national decline. Dr. Newport explains how politics, bureaucracy, and a lack of backbone have contributed to Britain’s social and economic woes, and describes his movement, “Looking for Growth,” aimed at reigniting prosperity through policy and activism.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Symptoms of National Decline
- Economic and Social Signals: Dr. Newport opens with a dire summary: productivity has collapsed, making life unaffordable. Britain's decline is a result of conscious policy choices and unwillingness to address foundational issues.
- Anecdotes Illustrating Decay: Rampant bike and phone theft, even outside Scotland Yard, are symptomatic of broader government disengagement from basic services and law enforcement.
- Diminished Public Safety: Shoplifting is at an all-time high; retail stores are forced to lock up essentials like meat and chocolate. Police rarely investigate petty crimes, discouraging the public from reporting incidents.
- Quote:
“We've chosen decline and we think we should do something different.” – Dr. Lawrence Newport [00:00, 66:47]
2. Law Enforcement and Judicial Failures
- Police Apathy and Red Tape:
- Example: Newport's own staged bike theft outside Scotland Yard revealed that even with GPS trackers and CCTV, police closed the case immediately.
- New software procurement and bureaucracy reduce arrest figures and officer efficiency.
- Quote:
“They didn’t look at CCTV. They didn’t look at the GPS. They did absolutely nothing.” – Dr. Newport [05:19]
- Judicial Laxity & Prison Overcrowding:
- Chronic underinvestment in prison infrastructure means habitual offenders (hundreds of crimes each) still get community sentences.
- Penalties are lighter due to lack of capacity and an ideological push against incarceration.
- Quote:
“If we had a 10 strikes and you’re out law... we would radically change justice in this country.” – Dr. Newport [17:37]
“You have a problem that you’ve not got any prison space. At the same time, there has been an ideological movement against giving people longer sentences.” – Dr. Newport [16:23]
- Two-Tier Justice System:
- Government guidelines now explicitly encourage leniency based on ethnic, cultural, and faith minority status.
- Quote: “This is an inversion of the rule of law. We... believe in equal justice.” – Peter McCormack [29:09–29:37]
- “Yeah, I mean it’s just plain discrimination.” – Dr. Newport [31:05]
3. Organized and Petty Crime: Causes and Effects
- Organized Gangs and Internationalization:
- Phone and bike thefts are often conducted by organized international crime networks.
- Stolen phones traced from London to international destinations within days.
- Shoplifting and Open Drug Use:
- Certain UK towns feel abandoned to crime, with businesses networking by radio to warn of thieves, but powerless to act.
- Shop staff are reluctant to intervene for fear of violence.
4. Broader Signs of Decline and Political Stagnation
- Declining Infrastructure and Services
- For the past 20 years, both major parties (Labour & Conservative) have failed to improve health, rail, housing, or economic productivity.
- Energy prices, housing shortages, population pressures, and near-blackouts all signal failure.
- Quote:
“We’ve completely squandered our inheritance.” – Dr. Newport [39:10]
- Managed vs. Accepted Decline
- Policies avoid radical change, preferring to slowly manage, rather than reverse, national decline.
- Quote:
“It’s not managed decline, it’s accepted decline.” – Peter McCormack [42:37]
5. Cultural and Institutional Weakness
- Bureaucracy and Lack of Accountability
- Civil service culture and government procurement are corrupt, inefficient, and rarely held to measurable outcomes.
- Staff are rarely fired for poor performance, and private sector principles like “metrics and accountability” are absent.
- Quote:
“If it was a private company, you would say it is insolvent.” – Peter McCormack [49:27]
6. The ‘Looking for Growth’ Movement
- Aims and Genesis
- Born of frustration, Newport and colleagues started the movement to demand real, bold pro-growth policies and infrastructure reforms.
- Policy proposals include bypassing planning laws for crucial infrastructure and incentivizing local acceptance of projects via direct payments.
- Bill Campaign: Sent their drafted “growth bill” directly to MPs, receiving both interest and passive-aggressive pushback from the political class.
- Building a Movement
- High turnout at events (“people are optimistic it can get better”). Plan for monthly policy summits, new staff, and regional chapters.
- Quote:
“We are running out of time as a country...” – Dr. Newport [95:20]
“If the country gets better, my life gets better, my family’s lives get better, everyone’s lives get better.” – Dr. Newport [68:01]
7. The Rot inside Academia
- Ideological Conformity and Declining Academic Standards
- Academic freedom is stifled by leftist bias; dissenting views are discouraged or punished.
- Quote:
“It is unfortunately the reality that there are entire viewpoints which are actively disliked, discouraged....” – Dr. Newport [82:36] - Staff petitioned to exclude controversial speakers—Dr. Newport’s pushback drew only silent, private support from colleagues.
- Quote:
“As a whole you end up in this weird, weird zone where people don’t want to say what they think.” – Dr. Newport [89:33]
8. Optimism, Urgency, and What’s Next
- Brain Drain and Youth Disillusionment
- High taxes and a stifling economy are driving talent abroad—a genuine “brain drain.”
- Students and young entrepreneurs feel unvalued and blocked at every turn.
- Quote: “I’m 25 years old and all I’ve ever known is decline. Things just have to be better.” – shared at LFG event [79:13]
- Summits and Actions
- Looking for Growth is hosting policy events with the aim to revamp UK policy, including specific biotech policies.
- “The idea is to build this movement and if people care and... want to see Britain build again... join us.” – Dr. Newport [78:13]
- Closing Call: The hosts agree Britain is at an inflection point; only radical courage and real reform can reverse the cycle of decline.
Notable Quotes & Timestamps
-
On State Decline:
“We’ve chosen decline and we think we should do something different.”
— Dr. Lawrence Newport [00:00, 66:47] -
On Police Inaction:
“They didn’t look at CCTV. They didn’t look at the GPS. They did absolutely nothing.”
— Dr. Lawrence Newport [05:19] -
On Two-Tier Justice:
“This is an inversion of the rule of law...”
— Peter McCormack [29:09] -
On Prison Policy:
“If we had a 10 strikes and you’re out law... we would radically change justice in this country.”
— Dr. Newport [17:37] -
On Institutional Stagnation:
“We’ve completely squandered our inheritance.”
— Dr. Newport [39:10] -
On Systemic Incompetence:
“If it was a private company, you would say it is insolvent.”
— Peter McCormack [49:27] -
On Why Activism:
“If the country gets better, my life gets better, my family’s lives get better, everyone’s get better.”
— Dr. Lawrence Newport [68:01]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:00 — Dr. Newport on productivity, national decline, and the failure to address root causes.
- 03:15 — Viral “stolen bike outside Scotland Yard” experiment and police indifference.
- 07:03 — Reactions from police and public to viral video, and discussion of systemic apathy.
- 15:10 — Shocking shoplifter case: 217 offenses, no prison time.
- 16:23 — Prison overcrowding, ideological aversion to imprisonment.
- 21:44 — MOJ stats: 10% of offenders responsible for 50% of crime.
- 29:09 — Discussion of sentencing guidelines favoring minority groups.
- 39:10 — Reflections on squandered British infrastructure and lost capability.
- 50:20 — The “Looking for Growth” movement: origin, bill, and aims.
- 66:47 — The need to rebuild productive capacity to escape misery.
- 68:01 — Brain drain and the need for renewal.
- 82:36 — Academic culture’s leftist bias and suppression of dissent.
- 95:20 — Time running out for political bravery and real reform.
Conclusion
This episode is a wide-ranging, incisive critique of modern Britain’s state collapse, mapped by Dr. Lawrence Newport’s personal and professional journey from academia to activism. The conversation blends personal stories, data, and strong policy analysis, ultimately offering a blueprint for both individual and collective action. The “Looking for Growth” movement is positioned as a critical counterforce to political cowardice—rooted in the belief that, with courage and accountability, Britain can escape its downward spiral.
“We are running out of time as a country very, very quickly... We need brave, competent people who are ready to actually tackle this and tackle it fast.”
— Dr. Lawrence Newport [95:20]