Cuts to policing have to stop

THE way in which the communities and people of Greater Manchester reacted to the attack on the Manchester Arena on May 22 showed the true Mancunian spirit.

More widely, the response from our emergency services was simply amazing and we offer our collective thanks and gratitude to the police officers, paramedics, fire service personnel, doctors and nurses, as well as those members of the public, who ran towards the danger to help their neighbours.

More than this, however, the attacks in both Manchester and London several weeks later, brought into sharp focus the question of whether our government is effectively supporting the police force so that they have the right tools at their disposal to protect us all.

What emerged as the election unfolded however was an end to one of the greatest myths in British politics, namely that the Tories are the party of law and order – with the reality being far from the truth.

Under Theresa May’s leadership as Home Secretary police numbers were cut by 20,000 across the country.

Under Theresa May’s leadership as Home Secretary the number of armed officers had been cut by 1,000.

Under Theresa May’s leadership the police budget was cut in real terms.

In response Labour did not simply galvanise young voters, but also tapped into the very real concerns that many ordinary working people have. Namely that cuts to frontline police forces, as well as across the NHS and education system, have simply gone too far.

Under Labour’s proposals, 43 forces across England and Wales would receive an additional 10,000 police officers in community policing roles – the equivalent of one officer for every local authority ward in the country.

Labour offered a real alternative with an optimistic and outward looking view of this great nation of ours.

Millions of people responded to this positive message with Labour receiving over thee million more votes compared to 2015 and winning seats from the East of Scotland to Plymouth in the South West.

We stood up for these values during our election campaign and we’ll continue to stand up for them against a weak and divided Tory party.