Trumpled (Alternative Leading)

[PaulP]

Don't both parties support law and order though?

I think, as a general rule, the conservative parties tend to have stronger (i.e more punitive) policies in this space. The more centrist or left leaning parties are typically painted as "soft on crime." In order to alleviate this, they try to up the ante on law and order, which then creates a type of policy arms race, as the conservatives become more hardline to maintain a point of difference. So no matter how tough on crime the moderates become, the conservatives will go further, and are thus the preferred and traditional choice for the "lock em up and throw away the key" brigade.