Tackling anti-social behaviour is a favourite of Prime Ministerial conference swansongs

After Gordon Brown announced a crackdown on anti-social behaviour as a key theme of his speech this afternoon, I thought I'd have a look into what John Major had announced in his final conference speech as Prime Minister in 1996.

Here's an extract of the report from the following day's Independent:

On law and order, Mr Major offered an attack on truancy, and announced experimental plans to put electronic tags on "young tearaways", imposing curfews on offenders aged from 10 to 15 years. "If we know a young trouble-maker is out there, night after night, disturbing the peace and committing crimes, we'll make sure the courts have the power to order him to stay put. At home, and off the streets," he said.

Major's "disturbing the peace" would surely translate into New Labour-speak as "anti-social behaviour".

The paper also reported John Major's attacks on Tony Blair as "a man who had never done a "real job" of work in his life", with the Prime Minister accusing him the Opposition leader of "using the language of crusade, dream and passion as a cover for lack of substance."

I need not remind you what happened at the following general election...