After Greater Manchester Police announced 3000 job losses last week, the Birmingham Mail reports this afternoon that 2,200 police officers and support staff will be axed from West Midlands Police.
Responding to the news, Labour’s shadow home secretary Ed Balls called Tory claims that 20% cuts could be followed through without frontline cuts “laughable”:
“This is now the second police force in the country since the spending review to confirm the impact of the government’s cuts on local policing.”
“David Cameron and Theresa May’s claims that police funding can be cut by twenty per cent without hitting frontline policing is becoming increasingly laughable.”
“It’s now becoming clear that policing is a low priority for the Tory-Lib Dem government. But what do you expect when the Tory Policing Minister thinks there’s no link between the number of police officers and the level of crime?”
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