Express & Star comment: Blue line is just getting ever thinner
With all the talk of give aways and tax breaks in this week's Budget, there was one area of spending that was completely ignored.
And while £420 million to fix potholes is welcome cash, that very same figure is the hole that will be left in police pension pots if the Government persists with its plans to increase force contributions.
Theresa May's apparent lack of interest in our police forces, along with her administration's disregard for law and order, really are quite staggering.
The Prime Minister is right to say that public service pensions should be fair to the taxpayer, but does she realise the impact that her Government's proposals are likely to have on Britain's streets?
With police forces already operating on scraps, taking further funding away from them will have dire consequences.
Both West Midlands Police and Staffordshire Police have both said the move will see them lose officers – an unthinkable scenario at a time of rising crime.
It is no wonder that senior officers are at their wits' end.
The situation has now reached the point where the National Police Chiefs Council is planning to launch legal action unless the Government backs down on its proposals.
Since he became Home Secretary in April, Sajid Javid has given the impression that he is willing to work with the police to give them the resources they require to fight crime.
But now his words need to be backed with actions.
The state of our police forces is a national disgrace, and Mrs May's administration – like David Cameron's before her – have let our bobbies down.
Instead of getting tough on criminals, the Government has empowered them.
Rather than boosting officer numbers, Number 10 has allowed them to dwindle to such an extent that the sight of a bobby on the beat is now a rarity in many areas of the country.
This latest shambles over pension contributions could well be the final straw.
You would hope that at some point, common sense will prevail and the Treasury will loosen the purse strings to provide some much-needed resources for the boys and girls in blue.
Sadly, such a prospect seems highly unlikely while Mrs May is running the show.
