Its the wrong target - the press will not be so compliant over this - they right wing press like the police.
The Tories/right-wing press don't let things such as "loyalty" get in the way of their self-serving agenda. They are perfectly prepared to be ruthless and stab whoever needs to be in the back, in pursuit of their goals. People who are totally committed to "the market", however brutal and inhumane it is, aren't sentimental about stuff like that - they can't afford to be. Remember that despite everyone else's best efforts in the end it was Thatcher's own colleagues, and those who owed her so much, that stab her in the back and put an end to her political career.
I agree that the police is not the natural target which you would expect the Tories to have their sights on, but the reality is that they have. The 20% cut in police budgets and the insistence that the police must accept pay cuts proves that. And a constant drip-drip of little digs, subtle criticism, and negative reporting by the press/Tories, will, as easygirl suggests, help to achieve that.
A totally unlikely Daily Mail headline a couple of years ago, but a very real one a couple of months ago :
Police officers will have to accept pay cuts or jobs will be lost, says Home Secretary as she warns of two-year pay freeze
