People are outraged that the Tories are breaking their promises to keep Croydon safe after the worst riots in a generation.

With the TV cameras on him in those dark days after the riots, David Cameron offered reassurances about public safety.  But now the Tories have announced plans to slash police resources in our borough. 

Under the Tory proposals, every single police station in Croydon North will close down. In a double betrayal,  Croydon will also be left with fewer police on the streets than the wholly inadequate number we had at the time of the riots. Croydon is being hit much harder than other outer-London boroughs, but local Tories seem content to let it happen. 

I put this issue direct to David Cameron in the House of Commons this week. 

His answer was totally detached from reality, he told me that people should ‘welcome’ the Tory proposals. Mr Cameron, Croydon’s Tory councillors, and Croydon’s Tory MPs all support these police cuts.  They know as well as I do that crime like street robbery, domestic violence and hate crime are all going up in Croydon. 

That’s why Labour is backing the community campaign to save our police and keep people safe. Croydon was hit hard by the riots and the problems that caused them have not gone away. We must not allow these savage Tory police cuts to go through when the memory of the riots remains so strong. 

Steve Reed MP
Member of Parliament for Croydon North