The Policing Debate 4th November 2015

Last updated on June 6th, 2023 at 07:23 pm

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The Motion:-

That this House notes with concern the loss of 17,000 police officers in the last five years; further notes the most recent Police Recorded Crime statistics, which show sharp rises in some of the more serious crimes including knife crime and sexual assault and that, alongside evidence that some crime is rising, there is evidence that crime is changing and moving away from traditional forms such as burglary and car theft and is being increasingly replaced by cybercrime; is concerned by reports that the police budget could face between 25 and 40 per cent spending reductions in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review; notes warnings from senior police figures that this could result in over 20,000 further reductions in frontline staff, the effective end of neighbourhood policing and much of the public being exposed to much greater risk; accepts that further efficiencies can be made in the police budget for England and Wales but believes that budget reductions over 10 per cent would be dangerous; further notes the ongoing concern surrounding the Scottish Government’s oversight of Police Scotland and the findings of the recent staff survey which found only 30 per cent of staff thought they had the resources necessary to do their job properly; and calls on the Government to secure a funding settlement for the police that maintains frontline services and does not compromise public safety.

The Debate

  
The Result

Ayes 214, Noes 343

So the motion was defeated by 120 votes, that’s how our government values the Police.

How your MP voted:-

Rather than reproduce a long list here, you can check out your MP and how he/she voted here on Hansard.

Looking at the photo, I assume that it’s possible to vote without actually being there, or maybe it’s simply necessary to merely pass through.  I accept that the picture doesn’t show the full House but 550 votes presumably represents more people than are visible, but equally there are more MPs than represented by the total votes, so many don’t seem to have voted.

I am disgusted.  Andy Burnham’s motion was perfectly reasonable and was, I believe, what the PUBLIC want. However the vast majority of our politicians are NOT concerned by the cuts to the Police Service, the results of the debate do not lie.

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3 thoughts on “The Policing Debate 4th November 2015”

  1. Alan although I was disappointed with the result of the debate the result was inevitable.I watched a good part of the debate and can assure you it was generally well attended and the contributions were quite powerful. The Plaid Cymru member Liz Saville-Roberts MP made IMHO an excellent speech. There were many speeches supportive of the Police position but sadly a lot appeared to be undermined by recent statements by Senior Police accepting that they could do more with less. The Tory approach was yet again the Police are shroud waving.and I believe the interventions of the two Hampshire MPs Damian Hinds Kit Malthouse were particularly unhelpful and complacent. Malthouse of course has the added ballast having been Deputy Mayor for Policing in London in other words the first PCC in the Country. This appears to give him much greater insight. Jack Dromey was I feel very powerful in his arguments but of course Mike Penning was able to bat away many of his arguments with the support of recent Inspections by HMIC. (Now that was a surprise) It is worth watching the debate (I did) it is available on the Parliament channel (How sad am I) Labour were never going to win the debate although to me they won the argument. The Tories were up for a fight as Mrs May had got their blood stirred with her Communications Bill which preceded it. I love reading your blog but that photo has appeared in a number of posts today and it truly does not reflect the true position. The old saying about the truth getting it’s boots on come to mind. Keep up your good work I always enjoy your posts

    1. I fully accept what you say about the debate, and I did have reservations about the photo, but having seen coverage on Parliament TV I noted that there were still many empty spaces, although I do accept that attendance was better than portrayed by the first photo. Ultimately, to be defeated by 100 votes and many absentees, does not bode well for the future of Policing, which at the end of the day is what I am interested in. Thank you for your comments Ian, much appreciated.

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