"Respect tsar" blames single parent families, decline in churchgoing for lack of politeness

"Respect tsar" Louise Casey has called for a campaign to bring politeness back to Britain.

The government coordinator said there was no excuse for yobbery and believed that society should be more ready to spend money to encourage good behaviour.

In a newspaper interview, she also called on TV soap operas to portray a nicer side to life, rather than constantly showing the UK as a land of candidates for an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo).

Ms Casey is best known as the driving force behind the Asbo, and she insisted that it was an important part of the effort to restore a culture of respect.

She also suggested people should try to do a good deed a day, saying: "It's important to help old ladies across the road. The greatest pleasure you can give yourself is to help somebody else."

She added: "We need a greater sense that it's OK to be decent, you're not the nerd if you don't throw your rubbish on the floor - you're the person who's making Britain the country we all want to live in."

Ms Casey singled out the rise in single-parent families and the decline in church-going and neighbourliness as factors in falling levels of politeness. Read more

Read the interview with the Telegraph here.