The Liberal Democrats would end “punishment posturing” and concentrate on better policing rather than stiff prison sentences, the party’s home affairs spokesman has told conference.

Chris Huhne said that both Labour and the Tories are “addicted” to legislating because they wanted to look tough when they should have concentrated on enforcing existing laws.

The former leadership challenger was given a hugely warm reception, including a standing ovation, by delegates. He delighted them with his attacks on the Conservatives who he said were abandoning liberal principles.

He delivered the latest of a succession of vicious anti-Tory attacks seen at the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth, reflecting the party's nerves about an increasingly resurgent Tory party.

He said: “George Osborne will go fair when George Bush goes green. Fairness will be a Tory value when Hell freezes over, Notting Hill becomes a workers’ republic, and the Bullingdon club affiliates to the Socialist International.”

The passage had echoes of yesterday’s speech by Vince Cable who called Tory fairness a “miracle” similar to those that believe North Korea is a democracy or the BNP promotes racial equality.

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, the Treasury spokesman who masterminded Mr Huhne’s leadership bid last year, is understood to have advised both speeches.

Mr Huhne used the speech to set out the party policy on crime, saying that young offenders who go to prisons have a 92 per cent chance of reoffending. “Our prisons are colleges of crime. If prisons works so well, why has crime gone down in Denmark while the number of prisoners has gone down. Why has crime fallen in Canada when the prison population is the same?

“The government’s own top-notch research found no evidence that tougher penalties deterred crime.”

He called for “reformed prisons” that educate and prepare prisoners for after life outside, and a greater emphasis on a shake-up of police. Mr Huhne is advocating a radical shake-up of the service, ending the “jobs for life” culture. He wants to encourage senior officers to sack “time-serving” police officers and base promotion more on merit and effort rather than period in the job. The Lib-Dems are committed to putting 10,000 extra police officers on the streets.

He said that if the prison population was the same as when crime peaked in 1996, there would be enough cash for 25,000 extra police. "If the ID card scheme were scrapped, we could hire a further 10,000 police. That's 35,000 extra police officers - a quarter extra - on the streets catching criminals and cutting crime."

He also called for an end to “legislative dithers accusing Labour of creating 3,600 new offences since 1997. “Labour’s new legislation takes the same amount of shelf space as 200 copies of War and Peace and it is twice has heavy as John Prescott.”

Earlier the Liberal Democrats called for new rules to protect thousands of families from the threat of repossession.

The party's conference backed a package of proposals designed to help hard-pressed householders struggling to meet mortgage payments. The measures also include plans to give councils the power to buy unsold homes and land from developers to boost social housing stocks.

Mr Cable told party supporters: "It's extremely important that we take advantage of the situation to acquire surplus land and surplus property, use the pipeline of funding that is already available through the Government to enhance the social housing stock."

Times Recommends

• What makes the perfect mum?
• To keep me stress-free, no more awareness days, please
• What do lottery winners buy?