Ken Clarke contra mundum

What to make of Sadiq Khan and Ken Clarke? As Pete has noted, Khan (and Ed Miliband) empathises with Ken Clarke’s instincts. But, as Sunder Katwala illustrates, Khan’s support is qualified. Khan gave speech last night after which he took questions. One of his answers was as follows:

“It’s no use us wanting to cuddle Ken Clarke – I don’t want to cuddle Ken Clarke but perhaps others do – when he is part of a government which has got policies which will see the number of people committing crime going up.”

He was referring to alleged cuts to police numbers and devices such as the educational maintenance allowance, as well as the pressure on education and mental health in prisons. The implication is that prison works if you throw enough money at it. He is not alone in holding that analysis. The Community or Custody Inquiry, chaired by Sir Ian Blair (formerly of the Met) and Dame Anne Owers (former chief inspector of prisons), is to advise that Clarke’s ‘rehabilitation revolution’ will collapse if denied sufficient funds; they even warn of a black