A common complaint often levelled at Members of Parliament is that they spend too much of their time treading the halls of power in Westminster to the detriment of the needs of the people who elected them in their constituencies.

Shipley MP Philip Davies spent the summer on the beat with West Yorkshire Police officers as part of a parliamentary scheme which allows MPs to shadow their forces and gain a greater understanding of policing on their own patch.

This is a good idea and although time constraints would probably not allow it, would be great if it could be expanded to include other disciplines.

Imagine how much more well informed our MPs would be if they spent their days off helping to empty wheelie bins, staff hospital reception desks or work behind the counter at their local Post Office.

The police is a fine enough start, though; we are all concerned about crime and want to know what is being done to combat it, and we would all like to see more visible policing as a deterrent.

It is to be hoped that Mr Davies's weeks spent shadowing police officers will result in something concrete, such as recommendations to those in power on a wide range of issues from the resources available to our front-line officers to the public's perception of crime and how well it is being tackled.