UK Government Enforces Nationwide Curfew in Emergency Measure to Stem Violent Protests

The government in the UK has today announced that there will be a nationwide curfew every evening from 7pm to 6am until further notice, with anyone breaking the curfew risking being placed under arrest.

The Prime Minister made this announcement in the House of Commons today as part of an attempt to stem the tide of anarchy and violence that has taken over the country in recent weeks.

We are now 21 years into the new millennium, and instead of this ushering in a time of prosperity and advancement, Great Britain for one has seen major economic woes, followed by violent protests as the government try to implement reforms that should have been made some twenty years ago.

The current crisis began with the government announcing strict controls to try and reduce the numbers of people who are claiming benefits illegally through loopholes in the law.

The numbers of those who have been living off benefits has reached what has been termed a "breaking point", where the income from those who do pay taxes can no longer support such large numbers of those who sponge off society.

The total elimination of child benefit for all families created an uproar across the country, in particular amongst those with five or more children and all living off unemployment, housing and child benefits, and there have been violent protests in cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.

In some parts of the country there are families who have three generations who have never worked, and a fourth generation going through the school system. The children of these families are amongst those who have been causing disruption in the class room, since they see no point in being educated when they are only going to register as unemployed when they leave school.

It's not just this group who have been putting a strain on the education system however. The growing numbers of children whose parents have left them to fend for themselves much of the time, and who have no normal family life, are adding to the numbers of behavioral incidents at school, including violence against staff and other pupils.

The economic crisis that has gripped the UK over the last ten years has led to cutbacks in the educational budget, with the result that some schools have had to close due to unprecedented levels of vandalism and violence.

It's sad to see a great nation such as ours dragged down like this, and liberal policies that have allowed the benefits system to be grossly abused for so long have been identified as one of the main causes.

It has been two years now since the law was changed calling for all police to be armed, but instead of stemming the violence on the streets, it has instead become more commonplace. 47 police officers lost their lives last year, and that number looks to be broken as the nationwide troubles continue.

The government have called in the army to assist in enforcing the curfew, and it is hoped that this will help put an end to the troubles.

The major news story yesterday was of course the fire bombing of the Harrods store in London's West End, as well as damage to the nearby National History Museum in Kensington, which the police fortunately managed to end, but not before an angry mob were able to pull down and destroy a Brontosaurus exhibit.

Other incidents yesterday here in the South included the looting and burning of a PC World store in Brighton, major vandalism in the Debenhams store in Southampton, and Marks & Spencer in Poole.

The noise is growing outside as a large group of protestors have gathered close to our news centre. The sound of shouting and taunts is mingled with that of stones hitting the windows of the building. One just broke a window in the news room. More stones... just missed my desk... now a bottle... petrol... fire........