Polls apart

Coming days after the Government unveiled a sentencing shake-up that will, inevitably, see more serious criminals sent to jail in the future, it will do little to enhance the credentials of the Tories, once the party of law and order.

Yet, while Ministers have reluctantly agreed to bow to a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that gives prisoners some voting powers, it makes no mention about the election of police commissioners – a policy due to be debated in the Commons today.

Given that David Cameron promised not to kowtow to the liberal whims of Europe when he came to power, the Prime Minister should show some backbone – advice that he regularly gave Gordon Brown – and say "enough is enough".

For, in a week where student rioters ran amok and the police lost control of the streets of London, the last thing that this country needs is the sight of would-be police commissioners canvassing prisoners for votes.