Today the GLA Conservatives amendment to the Mayor budget was rejected after Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Assembly Members voted against it. The amendment would have provided an additional £83 million for the police force putting an extra 1378 police officers on our streets.

Reflecting on the development Assembly Member for West Central Tony Devenish said, “This is a real blow to a safer London. It is simply unacceptable that the Mayor and other parties are not willing to increase funding for our dedicated police. This amendment would have led to more police officers and safer streets. The police keep us safe and ensuring that they have the funding they need to do their job effectively is crucial. I will continue to fight for more money for our city’s police force so that locals get the safety they deserve.”

The Mayor has chosen to divert money away from where it is needed most. He himself has admitted that the police are ‘underfunded’ and yet he resists increasing their funding by £83 million. Tony added, “Instead of keeping us safe, the Mayor is spending increasing amount of our money on his office’s Public Relations. I call on him to increase our police, not his PR.”