I believe that the Labour party should promote policies in support of an effective criminal justice policy in an alternative Queen’s speech. These policies should focus on making effective criminal justice for all. The heart of this platform consists of two key ideas. The first idea is that criminal justice must be effective. This is …

There are two things that we can let Londoners know about Ken’s policing pledge and they are that police numbers will be restored and that Safer Neighbourhood Teams will be safe. But will these policies really make any difference to the safety of London streets? I believe they will. As a former prison officer and …

So there’s not much money to spend and further cuts still to make if the deficit is to be dealt with. And anyway the electorate aren’t all that keen on the government spending as much as they do. You can add to that the nagging fear of many that Labour will spend too much and …

The police minister, Nick Herbert, had a go at John Prescott’s campaign against police outsourcing plans this week by accusing those who have concerns of being anti-reform. Come off it, Nick. These plans are about saving money. I’m (notoriously) keen on a bit of contestability and outsourcing in public services if it means that the …

This week, to mark International Women’s Day, Labour’s commission on women’s safety, Everywoman Safe Everywhere, is publishing its first report. I’ve been proud to serve as a member of the commission, alongside Vera Baird QC, who’s chaired it so ably, and my brilliant parliamentary colleague, Stella Creasy. I first became aware that women were becoming …

In July last year I was contacted by Michelle Livesey from Key 103 radio station. Michelle had been reporting on the tragic case of Clare Wood, a young lady in my constituency who was brutally killed by her former partner. He had a history of serial domestic violence against women; Clare had no way of …

Good for Labour, good for Britain Labour opposed the creation of elected police and crime commissioners. The question now is how Labour can win elections given its opposition. Some in the media wrongly believe that the party finds itself in an awkward position. They ask: how can Labour successfully contest elections it didn’t want? But …

I was appalled like many others when I heard about the disgraceful comments made by Baroness Tonge during an event in Middlesex University last week, which was part of the ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ which was held in different campuses. In addition to that the police are investigating offensive comments made by the American activist Ken …

When the TaxPayers’ Alliance criticise a Conservative justice secretary for going too far with public spending cuts, you know something is wrong.  But that’s exactly what Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, did a few weeks ago in a blogpost that criticised the Legal Aid cuts that will end up costing the taxpayer …

Have you been attending heated meetings in packed halls, listening to passionate speeches about the demise of police authorities and the introduction of police and crime commissioners? No? Me either. When it comes to the election of the new police commissioners, I’m not sure what Labour is opposing or more importantly defending. Any objective assessment …