Member News
Can I congratulate him for not listening to new partner but listening to his mother.
Harriet Harman, Labour Party leader
Harriet Harman called on David Cameron to protect police numbers, during prime minister's questions today.
The acting leader of the Labour Party pressed the prime minister over whether budget cuts in the Home Office would lead to there being less police on the streets.
"In the election campaign he said any minster who came to him with cuts to front line services would be sent straight back to their department to go away and think again, does that apply to home secretary?" she asked.
Cameron acknowledged that there would have to be savings made "across government" and that it would not be "easy".
"We should make sure we do every thing we can to protect the front line," he said.
But he said Harman went into the general election calling for twenty per cent cuts in every department, five per cent cuts each year.
"Ours is six per cent each year, so these are Labour cuts as well," he said.
And following an accusation that he was avoiding the question, Cameron said that when Alan Jonson was home secretary he gave a direct answer to journalist Andrew Neil on whether he could guarantee police numbers would not fall.
"A very simple question was put to the shadow home secretary before the last election," he said.
Quoting Neil he said: "Can you guarantee if you form next got that police numbers wont fall."
"No," Cameron said Johnson replied.
And he rejected Harman's suggestion that he was quoting selectively. "There is nothing selective about the word no," he said.
Harman also tackled the prime minister on whether he believed short prison sentences were useful.
"There's been a lot of progress on tacking domestic violence, but still every year hundreds of thousands of women are victims," she said.
Harman said that often it was not rehabilitation that was needed, but "a very clear message to perpetrator that it must not be repeated".
Cameron said that while short sentences were being reviewed, there was still a place for them in the justice system.
Harman congratulated him on not carrying forward "the Lib Dem promise".
"Can I congratulate him for not listening to new partner but listening to his mother," she said.
Harman pointed out that during the election campaign Cameron said hismother, a magistrate, had told him of the power of short sentences.
Article Comments
I like how these old school towel boys have to to keep resorting to looking like a disgusted ferret every time Harriet Harman asks Cameron a hard question like 'Where do increased revenues come from when you've took everyones job?'
BillMarden
8th Jul 2010 at 12:48 pm
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.