The prime minister said that increasing the authority of “more bobbies on the beat” would reduce crime.
The revelation is made as the prime minister struggles to contain the criticism he has received for his D-Day omission, which one Tory pundit has called “the biggest gaffe I can remember in politics”.
In an attempt to regain momentum, Mr. Sunak is starting the third week of the election campaign with a vow to uphold law and order, while Labour is focusing on childcare with a promise of 100,000 additional nursery spots.
A portion of the funds allocated for the proposal to hire more police officers will come from raising all visa costs by 25% and eliminating the student discount on the Immigration Health Surcharge.
According to the party, this will generate £600 million of the estimated £818 million needed, with the remaining funds coming from a crackdown on tax evasion.
While this mirrored the number of officers lost during the years of austerity following 2010, Mr. Sunak emphasized the Tory record of adding 20,000 cops since 2019.
“Since 2019, we have added 20,000 new police officers, and as a result, neighborhood crime has decreased by 48%,” he stated.
