Labour’s law and order plans are pure vibes

Most observers would agree that Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, is a serious person. One newspaper profile last year spoke of her ‘steely determination’. Sir Keir Starmer knew what he was doing when he appointed her to the Home Office brief, the toughest and most unforgiving in Westminster. On Wednesday, while the party leadership was mired in accusations of purging its left wing, Cooper went into bat for Labour’s law and order credentials, promising to ‘take back our town centres from thugs and thieves.’

This is an important policy area: crime may not top the list of voters’ concerns – the biggest issues tend to be the economy, housing and immigration – but it has a direct and profound impact on people’s lives, going to the heart of their sense of safety, self and community. It is hard to remember now but for generations it was a weak point for Labour, until then-shadow home secretary Tony Blair declared to party conference that a future Labour government would be ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime.