Nick Herbert
How easy would it be to withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights?
As James says, the prisoner votes row will return to parliament before lunch today. The government is expected to offer the Commons three choices: The retention of the blanket ban,… Continue reading
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Nick Herbert calls for Britain to quit the European Court of Human Rights
The prisoner voting issue is threatening to bring the whole issue of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights to a head. It is almost impossible to see… Continue reading
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Who are the BBC to question the legitimacy of Police & Crime Commissioners?
What’s the test of success of the Police & Crime Commissioners policy? It is, surely, whether the 41 individuals who will be elected tomorrow succeed in cutting crime and antisocial… Continue reading
71 Comments Exclusive: Nick Herbert is out. Government loses an innovative thinker.
Nick Herbert’s departure deprives the government of one of its most innovative thinkers. Herbert, who had been double hatting between the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, was the… Continue reading
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Herbert’s ‘boring waffle’ betrays unease on police commissioners
‘That’s just boring waffle!’ shouted Evan Davis on Radio 4 this morning when policing minister Nick Herbert refused to give direct answers to his questions on the turnout expected in… Continue reading
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Trigger happy policy
There have been signs recently that ministers are slipping back into the policy-by-headline mindset that defined the last Labour government. We’re seeing the sorts of policies that lack evidence, are launched… Continue reading
10 CommentsMiliband re-opens campaign with same old weapons
Party politics is back from the summer and the summer’s events are defining the strategic dividing lines. Ed Miliband reopened hostilities by threatening to force a vote on police cuts.… Continue reading
35 CommentsPolicing the local and the national
Today’s announcement on a proposed new National Crime Agency (NCA) is a key element in the government’s ambitious police reform agenda. Recent political attention has focused on changes to police… Continue reading
10 CommentsPlanning for a reshuffle?
David Cameron is determined to get away from the idea of an annual Cabinet cull. He has repeatedly told friends that he doesn’t want to reshuffle the Cabinet until March… Continue reading
34 CommentsTackling the last great unreformed public service
The Home Office has an ambitious police reform agenda and is overseeing challenging budget reductions, but they are also forging ahead with plans to introduce real workforce modernisation. The serious… Continue reading
52 CommentsA picture paints a thousand words
Crime maps have formally reached England and Wales. The Home Office has unveiled www.police.uk and citizens can examine incidences and trends of crime in their local area. Naturally, the website… Continue reading
18 CommentsThe welcome arrival of elected Police & Crime Commissioners
Directly-elected Police & Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are the boldest reform of policing since the 1960s. In May 2012 there will be 41 new political beasts in England and Wales with… Continue reading
13 CommentsBalls fires a warning shot at May
It has taken Ed Balls 24 hours to steam into action. He says: “The government’s deep cuts of twenty per cent to policing could mean up to 20,000 fewer police… Continue reading
37 CommentsToo many policemen chasing paper-clips
Back in June, I asked how long the public would stomach David Cameron blaming Labour. Not long, was my answer – the government would have to form a narrative that… Continue reading
27 CommentsAt last…
…a minister has repudiated the Brownite axiom that spending is the sole indicator for healthy public services. Nick Herbert has said, unequivocally, that ‘cuts and good services are not mutually… Continue reading
5 CommentsLaw and order
Along with defence, there’s one other area where rolling back the state doesn’t come naturally to Conservatives: criminal justice. The massive cuts looming on the horizon for the criminal justice… Continue reading
12 CommentsLearning to let go of the police
Today’s Mac cartoon in the Daily Mail is, for me, a cut out and keep. It epitomises everything that has gone wrong with policing in Britain – a copper running… Continue reading
64 CommentsHow the Tories will repeal the hunting ban
The Guardian has a story today about how field sports enthusiasts are donating heavily to Nick Herbert, the shadow DEFRA secretary. The paper links the donations to the fact that… Continue reading
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