Spending Review: Top London Liberal Democrats call for Met to “get its fair share” of new police funding.

Senior elected London Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to ensure the Metropolitan Police gets a fair share of the new funding for police forces unveiled by the Chancellor in today’s Spending Review.

Police funding will increase by an average of 2.3% in real terms - but the Government has not confirmed how that money will be allocated and is unlikely to confirm allocations until December.

Last month the Minister of State for Policing confirmed that cuts will see a loss of 1419 full-time equivalent officers and staff in London.

It had been widely reported in the build-up to the Spending Review that the Mayor had lobbied the Chancellor for more funding for the Met Police. It followed calls from Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley for further funding in May - saying “ambition and money go alongside each other”. However, no specific commitment to bolstering the Metropolitan Police was made in today’s announcement.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for London and MP for Sutton and Cheam, Luke Taylor, said:

 “Today’s announcement is welcome after years of Conservative neglect and mismanagement left the Met overstretched, under-resourced and unable to effectively tackle neighbourhood crime.

“But we need to make sure that the Met gets its fair share of the new funding, and it was deeply disappointing that the Government did not make a specific commitment to bolstering officer numbers in London. I’ll keep pushing the Government to make that commitment.

“It is already scandalous that we are set to lose almost one and a half thousand staff at a time when Londoners are rightly worried about knife crime, tool and car thefts, and anti-social behaviour. 

“What is clear is that Sadiq Khan couldn’t successfully negotiate this commitment for London, and therefore that he does not have the ear of the Government and can’t fight successfully for London. He promised us that with ‘the winds of a Labour Government at our backs’, he would be able to negotiate successfully for London’s needs. That is clearly not the case.”

Echoing Luke Taylor’s comments, Gareth Roberts, Liberal Democrat member of the London Assembly, said:

“Whether it's tackling knife crime or preventing violence against women, how can the Met possibly deliver progress, as officer numbers drop even lower and most of the city's police stations are either closing or collapsing?

“Londoners deserve a properly resourced police service, not empty promises.”