Yvette Cooper was in a stern mood this afternoon when she responded to the Home Secretary’s announcement about plans to opt-out of 130 European law and order measures and then re-adopt those which it fancies. Her main gripe was that she hadn’t been sent Theresa May’s statement about the plans until 45 minutes before it was delivered in the Commons, but she was also peeved about the content.
The Shadow Home Secretary argued that ministers ‘haven’t actually told us anything today at all’, arguing that the different limbs of the coalition were doing entirely different things on this matter. While David Cameron had spoken about an opt-out, Nick Clegg had said the government was ‘minded’ to opt out, and May had only given the ‘current thinking, Cooper complained. She added:
‘It’s like the government is playing a giant game of hokey-cokey and yet the fight against crime is at stake.’
If the government is playing the hokey-cokey and sticking its legs in and out of the law and order debate, May focused more on talking about hands. The
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