KATE OSBORNE MP: There has rarely been a tougher time to be a police officer as 13 years of Conservative rule has seen round after round of devastating cuts

'I joined Northumbria Police’s Response Team, accompanying them around South Tyneside, spending more than five hours with them to get a real insight and see first-hand the many typical Friday night issues'.

I was also grateful to discuss and see the policing and crime issues our local police force deal with on a daily basis, such as anti-social behaviour, off-road biking use, shoplifting and drugs.

It was an incredibly informative and helpful evening but unfortunately on one of the calls some officers were injured as they were carrying out their duties. Showing just how much they put themselves at risk and any call can lead to a serious incident, I can’t thank them all enough for the risks they take to keep us all safe.

There has rarely been a tougher time to be a police officer. Thirteen years of Conservative rule has seen round after round of devastating cuts – affecting all services.

Northumbria Police lost £148m out of its budget under successive Conservative Governments and have lost over 1,000 police officers since 2010.

This has a huge impact on communities and their ability to fight crime and prevent anti-social behaviour. You have to invest in frontline policing – and this Government isn’t doing enough.

Police resources are stretched beyond belief, pay is low, conditions are tough and our frontline services have continually been underfunded by this Government.

One thing that has never changed for our police is the pressure of the job. Officers are exposed to some extremely difficult experiences – I've kept in touch with our local officers who sustained injuries that night and thankfully they are recovering well.

The Prime Minister has boasted that the Tories have added 20,000 police officers nationally, but the country is still left with 9,000 fewer officers in real terms than in 2010.

The Conservatives have completely short-changed the North East. The next Labour Government will introduce 13,000 neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat.

Things cannot go on like this and that is why we need a General Election – and a Labour Government – now!

It would also be remiss of me not to mention Pride Month in one of my June columns.

LGBTQ+ rights have gone backwards under Sunak and the UK have plummeted in the equality rankings.

This Government continues to escalate tensions with its war on woke – throwing minorities and LGBTQ+ people under the bus to distract from the Tory made cost of living crisis.

People should be angry at the destruction of services, at the lack of housing, at the NHS crisis – but they should be angry at this Government not angry at some of the most vulnerable and discriminated against in society.