This speech is worrying, because it looks as though Ming is responding to opinion research and tabloid pressure, rather than formulating policies on crime and disorder which are both just an effective.

I fail to see why prisoners should not be permitted to vote. Most European democracies allow it, without any hue and cry from the poorer newspapers. The USA, of course, deprives prisoners and many ex-prisoners of the right to vote, principally as a device to disenfranchise blacks, who disproportionately vote Democrat. Since criminals in this country tend to be right-wing, the parties which tabloid newspapers support should have nothing to fear.

Do we really have to allow Rupert Murdoch and Lord Rothermere to dictate party policy?

I am strongly opposed to the use of ASBOS.

The ASBO is a legal monstrosity which imposes criminal liability in respect of conduct which would otherwise be too vague to criminalise, and applies criminal sanctions on a civil standard of proof.

This is the stuff of banana republics.

ASBOS are popular because they tend to be used against minority groups, such as young people, who are not generally considered to "deserve" rights or fair treatment. When they come to be deployed against people who rip the transponders out of their cars, and refuse to allow the state to put implants in their children's brains, then this might change.

For more than 30 years, the tabloid media have been magnifying the level of crime in this country. Why? The elites which these publications serve wish to increase the extent to which the state and its security aparatus watches and controls us. The more we fear external threats, the more powers we are willing to give to the state. David Icke calls it "Problem, reaction, solution".

I am not opposed to the Liberal Democrats being "tough on crime". But what do we mean by this nebulous catchphrase? If we mean further encroachments on civil liberties accompanied by a miasma of rhetoric, then I refuse to go along with it. If, on the other hand, we mean impoving the clear-up rate and putting a bomb under our underperforming Police Force, then I am an enthusiastic supporter.

The Police do not actually investigate many crimes. They are far more interested in persecuting innocent motorists, who are "easy meat" (the work is done for them by cameras). Catching criminals requires a bit of effort, and many Police would rather sit and bitch in the canteen.

If other public servants fail to deliver, we say so. But we have a taboo against criticising the Police.