Labour is in a muddle over its attitude towards the boys in blue. It has just published a report hailing West Mercia as the top performing police force in the country. At the same time it wants to scrap the force, claiming it is not big enough to do its job properly.
But this is nonsense. West Mercia has 2,400 coppers and is perfectly capable of running its own show.
The case is compelling: West Mercia generally does a great job, despite operating on a shoe-string budget compared to other forces. It has one of the lowest crime rates in the country, with improving rates of detection. A West Midlands regional force will inevitably mean fewer police working from fewer police stations in the countryside while the cities get more. Local rural communities would have less say over policing priorities.
Closer national co-ordination between forces makes sense, but ramming them into a regional structure is an anti-democratic scam. We need greater local accountability for our police, not less.
Tony Blair says he will consult local people on these batty proposals. I urge everyone in the Ludlow constituency to tell him to forget it.
Stop Press: Thank you to all of the 6,000+ who have completed my survey on local issues and the Conservative leadership. I shall publish results later this week, so there is just time to respond. David Cameron is increasing his lead over David Davis.
