WESTMORLAND and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron has accused the Chancellor of the Exchequer for using 'smoke and mirrors' when he promised to protect police budgets.
George Osborne announced in the Autumn Statement at the end of November that 'there will be no cuts in the police budget at all, there will be real terms protection for police funding'.
However, Mr Farron believes documents released on the final day of parliamentary business before Christmas undermine this claim.
He said research from the independent House of Commons Library shows that once inflation is taken into account Cumbria Police is 'in line for a 1.9 per cent real terms cut'.
Mr Farron said: "Just weeks ago, residents across Cumbria were relieved to hear that George Osborne’s plans for severe cuts to police budgets had been shelved, as he announced in the Autumn Statement that police budgets would be protected.
"However, George Osborne has now gone back on that promise, as he plays smoke and mirrors with the budgets in order to cut funding for Cumbria Police. George Osborne needs to be straight with the police, to enable them to plan ahead. It is utterly wrong for the Chancellor to backtrack like this, just weeks after telling the public that the police would be protected.”
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