(Bloomberg) — Rishi Sunak’s government is trying again to ban “zombie-style” knives from Britain’s streets, amid public outrage over brutal stabbings that have laid bare the flaws in two previous attempts to tackle the issue.

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“Knife crime continues to take precious lives away and I am determined to put an end to this senseless violence,” Home Secretary James Cleverly said ahead of the new legislation’s introduction to Parliament. “We must stop these dangerous knives ending up on our streets and in the hands of criminals.”

Yet voters are likely to have a sense of deja vu: the governing Conservatives — who style themselves as the party of law and order — first moved in 2016 to outlaw zombie knives, defined then as those with a cutting or serrated edge and “images or words that suggest it is to be used for the purpose of violence.”

Then in 2019 “cyclone knives,” which have spiraled blades, were added to the list. But the government has since conceded that zombie-style knives are still being sold online — without threatening words or images to evade the obvious loophole. All the while, knife crime was soaring — data published Thursday showed violent and sexual offenses involving a knife up 77% since 2015.

For his critics, zombie knives are a symptom of a broader problem facing Sunak, that his Tories promise much but achieve little. With Keir Starmer’s Labour Party 20 points ahead in the polls, he’s running out of time ahead of an election expected in autumn to prove that he can turn around ailing public services from the justice system to the National Health Service.

Read more: Sunak Says UK Crime Is Falling. But Britons Aren’t Feeling It

There has long been a disconnect between the government’s rhetoric and what people feel on the ground. While ministers in Westminster regularly announce new measures and point to crime falling on their watch, voters struggle with antisocial behavior and car thefts on their doorstep.

That’s the angle Labour honed in on, saying the government had issued 16 press releases about zombie knives and related knife crime since 2015. That points to two things: a habit of repeating announcements, and just how often ministers have felt the need to say something on knife crime during the period.

The risks for Sunak run deeper, though. Even on its third attempt at a ban, there are doubts over whether the legislation goes far enough and whether the government is doing enough to tackle knife crime. Some critics say even so-called ninja swords aren’t included, while the new ban won’t take effect until September.

Actor Idris Elba, whose campaigns have given the issue even more prominence, told the BBC that while the new law was a “step in the right direction,” ministers need to better consider how police, health and education services work together to prevent knife crime.

That’s a sensitive issue for Sunak’s Conservatives, who are widely blamed for the cuts in local services since it imposed austerity when the party came to power after the global financial crisis in 2010.

Read more: UK Braces for ‘Austerity on Steroids’ With Little Left to Cut (1)

It has also handed Starmer an opening, and the Labour leader often links his experience as a former director of public prosecutions to his calls for more focus on prevention – whether health or crime — as the fix for public services.

Labour has promised a £100 million-a-year youth program aimed at identifying and supporting young people most at risk of knife crime if it wins the election. Starmer also promised to go further on zombie knives, to extend the ban to more weapons and toughen existing rules on serration and length.

“For years, the Tories have made grand promises of action, but by failing to bring a proper ban on these killer knives and to crack down on online sales to kids, they’re letting a generation down,” Starmer said.

Meanwhile the Conservatives pushed back at Labour’s position and the accusation that the government’s legislation will not do enough. Policing minister Chris Philp said other weapons, including swords, could be added to the banned list at a later date if necessary.

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