Rookie policemen are trained to subdue crowds rather than excite them. Brian Paddick, the former Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner turned candidate for London mayor, clearly learned his lessons well.

Taking the stage for the first time at the Liberal Democrat conference today, the rookie politician reached for buttons that cannot fail to arouse the party faithful. Yet his denunciation of ID cards and the overuse of police stop-and-search powers hardly raised a murmur. The punchlines were there, but the timing and delivery were lacking.

Mr Paddick, who rose to prominence by pioneering a softer police approach to cannabis in a south London borough, will be hoping to do better when he to launches his mayoral campaign later today.

Expectations are high. Lib Dem members in London will vote to choose their mayoral candidate next month. He is almost certain to prevail.

Some Lib Dems see him as their "yellow-knight", a dashing-copper with the public standing to slug it out with the likes of Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson in the mayoral race. But if his first attempt at speaking to the party is any clue, the transition from police chief to politician may prove more difficult than his many supporters imagined.

September 19th, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink