- To govern is to choose and in Government, the Conservatives chose to protect our streets, delivering record police funding, record officer numbers, and cutting crime by over 50%.
- But Labour’s decisions could not be more different after leaving our police forces facing a £350 million blackhole and forcing cuts of over 1,300 police officers, including four across West Mercia.
- Forcing our police to pick and choose which crimes they respond to because this failing Labour Government is not prioritising public safety is simply not acceptable and the Conservatives will do all they can to ensure safety across Bromsgrove and the Villages is not compromised.
Labour’s cuts to police funding are gutting our forces across the country with four less officers in West Mercia, eroding the safety of our local community.
New figures reveal that police numbers have dropped by 1,316 officers. That is 1,316 officers who could have been on our streets, protecting our neighbourhoods, investigating crime, and backing up overstretched teams, but aren’t because Labour will never back the badge.
And the recruitment crisis is deepening, as the number of new joiners has plummeted by 17% in just one year. This is a catastrophic drop when every force is crying out for new recruits.
Unfortunately, today’s statistics are not a surprise and alongside police forces nationwide, the Conservatives have consistently been raising the alarm. Police forces have been faced with a funding blackhole of at least £118 million from the Police Funding Settlement, the equivalent of 1,800 police jobs. And that’s before you even factor in Labour’s £230 million Jobs Tax, money that could pay for 3,600 officers, now swallowed by tax hikes.
The Conservatives delivered the highest number of police officers in British history - recruiting 20,000 more and increasing police budgets to £18.4 billion, a 30% cash increase since 2019. The Conservatives kept their promise and they delivered results.
Labour is now reversing that progress, and it’s the public who will pay the price.
Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said:
“The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens and that starts with policing.
“Labour have slashed budgets, hiked taxes, and left forces with a £350 million black hole. Today, we have seen the direct result with over 1,300 officers gone, recruitment down 17 per cent, and 5,400 police jobs at risk at the very moment knife crime is surging and confidence is collapsing.
“Labour have taken a sledgehammer to the record officers, record funding, and real results the Conservatives delivered in Government.”
Matt Vickers MP, Shadow Minister for Crime, Policing, and Fire, said:
“Our officers are the first to run towards danger, the people we rely on when everything else breaks down. They are the reason parents feel safe letting their kids walk to school, the reason we can go out at night knowing someone will answer the call if things go wrong.
“We recruited 20,000 extra officers, gave them the tools to do the job, and funded policing at record levels because we understood the simple truth that safer streets aren’t optional.
“If people feel less safe today, it’s because Keir Starmer drained the budget and walked away from public safety.”
