Three local MPs have published a joint statement about the decision by the Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews to make huge cuts to police funding.

The statement from Amanda Hack MP for North West Leicestershire, Liz Kendall MP for Leicester West and Jeevun Sandher MP for Loughborough, have published a joint statement slamming the PCC's underfunding of local police.

In the budget proposal for Leicestershire and Rutland Police, Matthews has put forward a budget of £261.97m for 2026/7 - leaving a funding gap of £4.7m.

In the statement from MPs, they strongly criticised his budget, saying 'It is the residents who will suffer the most.'

The statement read as follows: 'The unprecedented lack of support for the PCC's budget from Leicestershire's rightly concerned Chief Constable is yet another damning indictment of Rupert Matthews and how Reform UK want to take our public services backwards.

'The proposed changes will create a £4.7m budget deficit for Leicestershire Police – with the Reform PCC acknowledging it means the force needs to make savings of, in his words, 'just' £1.2m in the next year – and see them lose around £6m over the next four years, equivalent to over 140 frontline officers. 

'As local MPs, we meet with residents every week whose lives are blighted by crime and anti-social behaviour. Our constituents deserve a police force where the focus is on fighting crime and rebuilding the neighbourhood policing that was decimated by the PCC's former party. 

'Reform needs to tell the law-abiding people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland how many police officers will be cut and which crimes will go unpunished as a result of their PCC's decision, as it is the residents who will suffer the most. 

'Reform's only PCC has lost the support of his Chief Constable on this budget whilst our Labour Government is investing in neighbourhood policing and bringing forward changes to make our communities safer. It's clear to see which party is on the side of law and order.'

The MPs are not the only ones to have spoken out against the new budget, with the Police Federation describing them as 'shuddering cuts' that would put the public at risk.

Furthermore, Chief Constable David Sandall also said he could not support the budget, saying 'I recognise that no one really wants to pay more tax and, of course, we recognise the pressures on people's finances, with many in force managing financial pressures.

'We are already one of the lowest funded police forces nationwide and it is a credit to my officers and staff at Leicestershire Police that we rank within the top eight performing forces.'

Mr Matthews will present his recommendation to the Police and Crime Panel on Wednesday, February 4.

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READ MORE: 'This puts the public at risk': Concerns over underfunding of police in budget

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