The Conservatives started this race to the bottom. Time was when Conservative Home Secretaries were supposed to restrain the blood lust of the hangers and floggers in their party, but that all changed during the Thatcher-Major years. They could not bring back hanging and flogging but they abandoned all attempts to do anything constructive at the Home Office. Michael Howard was a dreadfully reactionary Home Secretary and his Labour successors carried right on up the same road.
By now an old style Tory paternalist like Willie Whitelaw would be a great improvement as Home Secretary. I fear we will not see his like again, let alone a genuinely liberal, reforming Home Secretary like Roy Jenkins.
