MPs back cuts then organise petitions!

DEAR Editor, In the week when we saw reports in the national press that police response times are suffering (we’re told it can now take days to respond to a 999 call), a Solihull Council report showed that 1,671 more crimes have been reported this year compared to last. And this comes on the back of plans to sell our police station.

As a councillor in Smith’s Wood, residents reported to me that having rung 999 (as local youths ran across the roofs of their bungalows), the nearest response car was ten . miles away, and stuck in rush hour traffic. They were seen four days after they made their call.

At the same time, we’ve heard politicians accuse the police of wasting resources. The simple fact is that our police force simply doesn’t have the resources it needs. They have seen their budget cut by 25 per cent over the last few years.

It’s no good just blaming the police anymore. They need proper resources to do their jobs properly.

It is scandalous and deceptive for our MPs to vote for these cuts in Westminster, then come back here and organise “petitions” criticising people for making the cuts they themselves voted for.

It’s time for more honesty with the public – I call on our local Conservative MPs to call on their party in Government to sort this out and to stop voting for these cuts, or to be honest with the public that they are the ones to blame for the police’s problems, not the hard-working men and women who go above and beyond to protect us every day. Councillor Mark Wilson, Green Party,

(Smith’s Wood Ward), Solihull MBC