Labour

The Home Secretary is still ducking the main issue - Cooper

Yvette Cooper MP, Labour's Shadow Home Secretary, responding to Theresa May's speech today, said:
 
"The Home Secretary is still ducking the main issue which is that over 16,000 police officers are being cut as a result of her decision to make front-loaded cuts to the police budget that go too far too fast. At a time when personal crime has gone up by 11 per cent, the Home Secretary is out of touch with the problems communities face.
 
"The Police Federation said they would accept the Police Arbitration Tribunal conclusion and we had said the Home Secretary should accept it too. Unfortunately the Home Secretary’s handling of this has left police morale at an all-time low.
 
“Pay restraint was always going to be part of police savings, and Chief Constables have already built that into their plans, though many are sceptical about the extent of the savings these plans will deliver in practice. However even with savings from pay they are still expecting over 16,000 police officers to be cut and thousands more staff to go too.
 
"Today’s speech doesn't get away from the fact that police budgets have been cut by 20 per cent rather than the 12 per cent that Labour supports and that independent experts recommended. None of these pay changes will prevent the biggest drop in police officers for decades. The Home Secretary needs to re-open the police budget for next year before thousands and thousands more officers are lost."