GEDLING MP Vernon Coaker freewheeled about the Commons jabbing a finger at every Tory and Lib Dem daring to meet his eye.

"Put that on yer leaflet," Labour's shadow police minister repeatedly hollered in a captivating if not slightly maniacal way.

He meant that honourable members should put on their party's forthcoming local election campaign literature the number of police officers being laid off in their area as a result of Government cuts.

"The Home Secretary wants to listen to this," he then commanded, hitting the climax of a gritty speech which also targeted Coalition plans to introduce elected police commissioners.

But despite his best efforts and those of the shadow home affairs team, the Coalition's policing reforms have passed through the Commons.

Crime is a key political battleground, perhaps the key one after the economy, and only matched in the intensity stakes by the debate over the future of the NHS.

So why is it that the Coalition's NHS reform has met such trouble that the Government "paused" its progress this week, while their police reform passed through with nothing more than the expected level of resistance?

Both involve system redesigns that aim to make public services more accountable and more "local" and both met considerable opposition from the Labour benches.

In part it is to do with the nature of the reform itself.

The NHS is a hideously complex beast and trying to change it into another type of hideously complex beast is a hard policy to sell.

All of that complexity makes it harder to see what the Government is doing, which makes it easier for the Opposition to say something underhand is afoot – like NHS privatisation.

Yet the police reforms are fairly straightforward – the Government wants the public in each area to elect the person who is in charge of their police.

Meanwhile ministers admit police budget cuts, but say they're needed to pay off "Labour's debt".

They add that frontline policing shouldn't suffer as backroom functions will be cut first.

Whether one agrees, one basically gets what's going on with police reform – and a message that can be communicated is a message that can be bought by the voter.

Another reason police reform has come easier is because it is natural Tory terrain.

Despite accusations thrown at Ken Clarke over sentencing reform, Tories know voters' default belief is that the political right will be tough on crime.

But David Cameron had to fight hard to build an NHS-friendly image for his Tories which means they've had to tread carefully when presenting NHS reform – that in turn has robbed them of the bite they have in other areas.

Finally, police reform has been easier because of the person in charge.

Home Secretary Theresa May has become a stalwart of the cabinet, possibly the most dependable member after George Osborne.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, meanwhile, has been foraging through technical NHS jargon so long he can no longer talk real people's language – this week he needed Cameron to articulate his message and prevent his reforms going to the dogs.

Coaker shouldn't get down-heartened however.

Rumour is there is a reshuffle coming up – with a little luck Lansley could be moved to the Home Office.