Roads around Westminster were brought to a halt today, as tradespeople staged a mass van rally to raise awareness for the impact of tool theft.
Overseen by Trades United, the tool theft rally began at Brent Cross around 11am, before progressing to Westminster Square, where it looped the area for several hours. Those taking part felt that the government is not doing enough to combat the issue of tool theft, and are hoping that by staging a demonstration, politicians will be forced to acknowledge the scale of the problem.
The vans drove slowly in a loop around Westminster Square, with many of the drivers also sounding their car horns and using air horns. Many of the vans were outfitted with stickers reading slogans such as “Hands off our van” and “No tools, no trade”.
Several of the tradespeople kbbreview spoke to at the event were kitchen and bathroom installers, many of which said they had suffered firsthand from having their tools stolen. One installer in particular said he had been a victim of tool theft no less than 16 times.
The rally was organised by Trades United founder, Shoaib Awan, who hosted a similar rally at Westminster last summer. Speaking to kbbreview, Awan estimated that as many as 500 tradespeople could have taken part in today’s demonstration.
Asked about why today’s event was bigger than last year’s, Awan said it’s because, “nothing’s been done about it, and people are absolutely fed up with tool theft”.
He continued: “They have to take action, and they need to punish these criminals. It’s unacceptable to break into peoples’ vans – drilling holes in them, in some cases – and steal peoples’ livelihoods. People don’t even report tool thefts anymore, because all that happens is they get given a crime reference number over the phone and that’s all. It’s got to stop.
“We want the government to come out and take action. Stop putting so much work into things like zero energy, and start working on zero crime instead.”
During the rally, Matt Vickers, the Shadow Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, made an appearance and spoke to kbbreview, confirming he was “hugely supportive” of the rally.
He commented: “My dad’s a builder, my brother’s a builder. I get what it is when people get to their van in the morning for a day’s work, only to find out they’ve been broken into and everything’s gone. It’s absolutely horrendous.
“There’s a bill that was drafted just before the election, forcing the people who produce the tools to up their game and put markers on the kit. But that’s been sat on someone’s desk for six months without any action.”
Also at the rally was Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North, who insisted to kbbreview that despite Vickers comments, tool theft is certainly a priority for the current government.
She explained: “The previous government did begin to put through a law around marking up tools to make them more difficult to sell, but what we’re seeing is that they’re still being sold at car boot sales. So we’ve got to stop people actually selling these tools, and I think one of the ways we do that is by raising awareness like this.
“People need to know about the real human cost behind this. It’s not just about nicking someone’s toolbox or their drills, it’s about their livelihoods, being able to do their jobs, it’s about their families, and their mental health. In fact, the mental health element here is huge. The suicide rates in this profession are going up, and that’s really not good enough.
“As a government, we absolutely recognise the value of tradespeople. If we want to build 1.5 million houses and get this country moving, and have our economy going, we need the trade community.”
In December, Martin also introduced a new House of Commons bill covering tool theft. The bill proposes reforms to the current guidelines around theft, including adding tool theft specifically to the list of examples considered as causing “significant additional harm” to a victim. In addition, the bill is also looking to better recognising the financial loss incurred when tools are stolen from tradespeople.
