Boris Johnson's inaugural speech as prime minister was a bravura performance. The enthusiasm was infectious and, if one did not know that the EU27 were adamant that the Barnier-May withdrawal pact could not be renegotiated and that not all of his promises could be fulfilled without an increase in tax or borrowing or both, one could be hypnotised into believing that a new one-nation-tory dawn was breaking.
Of course, he has the typical politician's belief that wishing something makes it so. "We got rid of 20,000 police since 2010. It was a mistake, which we can simply reverse by funding their return." In fact, while some officers may return, if they have not committed themselves to a new career, with a modicum of re-training, the vast majority of that number will have to be raw recruits who will only be fully qualified after two years. We also learn from BBC News that there is a shortage of expert trainers, so this lead time may be even longer.
"More bobbies on the beat" will be a good thing, but it has clearly been chosen for its appeal to the average voter, like the rather more sinister proposal to relax the protocol for "stop and search". If the PM really wants to tackle crime, he needs to reverse the cuts to the prison service and thus reduce violence, cut drug use and improve prisoner rehabilitation. If he succeeds in his aim of increasing the length of sentence for sexual and violent crimes, then he is going to have to build more prisons, too - or take at least as many imprisonable offences off the statute book. This last would be no bad thing, but is he prepared to stand up to both the Mail and the Mirror who will no doubt go to town on it?
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