After refusing to call for Cressida Dick’s head, Labour managed to claw back a few brownie points among the hard left by coming out against today’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. On Sunday morning, David Lammy said the bill proposes “disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to protest… It is a mess, which could lead to harsher penalties for damaging a statue than for attacking a woman.” This is an incredible reversal from what the Shadow Home Secretary said about the bill less than a week ago:

“While Labour has been calling for a number of these changes, they will not go far enough to tackle violence against officers, which saw attacks on officers rise 50 per cent over the past five years.” 

Bizarrely the shadow policing minister was on the airwaves this morning still reiterating Labour’s support for swathes of the bill:

“And you’re right, there are some things in there that we’ve been campaigning for for a long time and that are good, there are some things in there that we like the look of”

While, given the immense breadth and scope of the bill, the government is expecting to drown in amendments, Labour is now taking the decision to try and kill the bill dead. Labour’s statements seem to prove their opposition today is nothing to do with principle, just trying to claw back some good headlines…