The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, today joined forces in their campaign to tell the Chancellor to use the Budget on 22 November to end the police funding crisis and end the risk to public safety.
In a letter to Philip Hammond, the Mayors spelled out their warning in the strongest possible terms, urging the Chancellor to end the real-terms cuts to policing budgets since 2010, and to put public safety first.
This year, both cities have suffered horrific terrorist attacks, and the police response has been phenomenal – with officers going above and beyond the call of duty to keep our citizens safe.
But, as counter-terrorism experts warn that the number of attacks and attempted attacks will continue to increase with both overall crime and violent crime rising across the country – the two Mayors are extremely concerned that the police’s ability to keep their cities safe and to prevent and respond to any future terrorist attacks is being put at risk by the funding crisis facing forces across England and Wales.
Police force budgets have been reduced in real terms since 2010, while costs have continued to rise and inflation is currently at 2.9 per. The Chair of The National Police Chiefs’ Council, Chief Constable Sara Thornton, has warned that even Counter Terror funding for policing is being cut by more than seven per cent in real terms over the next three years.
