Having faced criticism from the tabloids, his own party and the opposition for his party's prisons policy, David Cameron performed a sharp reversal this week and ditched many of the liberal plans of his justice secretary Ken Clarke. In place of a proposal to offer 50% sentencing discounts for criminals who plead guilty, Cameron vowed to keep prisoners banged up for longer and promised to jail anyone who commits a knife crime.
The Guardian's home affairs editor Alan Travis explains that in light of Cameron's intervention, Clarke may feel his time as justice secretary is drawing to a close.
Also this week: Julian Astle, former director of Centre Forum and a Lib Dem insider, joins us in the pod to outline the arguments made in a Guardian comment piece this week. He claims that Blairites, Cameroons and Lib Dem Orange Bookers would be more content in a party of their own - and that they are increasingly distant from the parties they are supposed to represent. Columnists Anne Perkins and Madeleine Bunting join the discussion.
