I NOTE with dismay the news that 19 police officers will be taken off the streets of Bury following a disastrous funding settlement from the Government.

Crime, and the fear of crime, blights the lives of so many residents in our community that I believe it is essential that we invest in more police - which is why I have campaigned on this issue for months.

A recent visit to the HQ of Bury police reinforced my opinion that we need to give them the resources they require and let them get on with their excellent work. The Chief Constable of the GMP, Michael Todd, agrees. In a recent statement he said that it would be "naive" to think that the current funding shortfall would not impact on front-line policing.

Labour's reaction, on the other hand, has been to criticise everyone except their own Government. The Home Office minister responsible for the crisis, Hazel Blears, has told Mr Todd to make best use of the resources he has got while Bury's two Labour MPs have criticised Michael Todd for "not consulting". The truth is that while Labour play the blame game, we all suffer.

The Government have shown that they are all talk when they say they will be "tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime". A future Conservative Government will fund more than 2,000 extra police officers in Greater Manchester, including an extra 80 in Bury South. I will continue to campaign to ensure that we get the police we need with adequate resources to protect us.

ALEX WILLIAMS,

Conservative Prospective

Parliamentary candidate

for Bury South.HQ