But now the government wants an extension. Breach of contract is being deemed fit for a penalty which is, in its way, unique. The extension is breezing through parliament. The House of Lords has a last chance to stop it today. The issue is narrow but deep, the case for the government seductive - but ultimately repellent.
New Labour refuses to recognise that they can be poisonously oppressive.
The issue arises low down the ladder of contractors, among the very poorest. Community service orders, imposed by the courts for a range of mostly petty crimes, are, as is well known, sometimes not obeyed. The community work is not done, offenders fail to clock in when they should, and so on. When this happens, the court that imposed the order looks at the circumstances. Maybe the order is reimposed, maybe the offender is reassessed, maybe he goes to jail.