The Respect agenda was launched in September 2005 by

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Tony Blair described it as being about "putting the law-abiding majority back in charge of their communities". Its aim was to help central government, local agencies, local communities, and citizens to tackle anti-social behaviour collaboratively and more effectively. __NOTOC__ In a speech in January 2006, Tony Blair acknowledged that Respect owed much to the work of sociologist

Richard Sennett Richard Sennett (born 1 January 1943) is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University. He is currently a Senior Fellow of the Center on Capitalis ...

, particularly his 2003 book ''Respect: The Formation of Character in a World of Inequality''. In late December 2007, shortly after

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

succeeded Blair as prime minister, it was reported that the government had effectively ended the Respect programme by closing down the Respect Task Force and moving its head to another job inside the Cabinet Office. However, much of the Respect Agenda was incorporated into a Youth Taskforce Action Plan in the

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was replac ...

Respect Task Force

The agenda was co-ordinated by the Respect Task Force, a cross-governmental unit based at the Home Office. Louise Casey, former director of the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit, headed the Task Force.

Respect Action Plan

The key policies of the Task Force were published in the Respect Action Plan in January 2006. The report advised tackling the underlying causes of anti-social behaviour, intervening early where problems occur and broadening efforts to address other areas of poor behaviour.

Anti-social behaviour

The agenda promoted a range of tools including

Anti-Social Behaviour Order An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO ) is a civil order made in Great Britain against a person who had been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. The orders were introduced by Prime Minister Tony Blair ...

s (ASBOs), Parenting Orders, Family Intervention Projects and Dispersal Orders. The Task Force claimed use of a combination of the available tools can be effective when tackling the problem, although ASBOs have encountered some controversy.

References

External links

Respect website
{{Tony Blair Tony Blair 2005 introductions Programmes of the Government of the United Kingdom Anti-social behaviour Criminology Social policy