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Criminals can’t believe their luck that the Conservatives have shut more than 600 police stations in just eight years.

Despite what they may claim, the Tories are the party of lawlessness and disorder.

There are worrying gaps in the thin blue line right across the nation.

The largest closure programme in history is the result of a 20% funding cut.

Theresa May, first as Home Secretary and now as Prime Minister, is to blame.

While we appreciate she must be protected, it will grate with the public that she is safe while they have lost their local police station.

Together with the loss of 20,000 officers, this sustained attack on policing by an austerity Government is unforgivable.

Crime is rising, and the thin blue line must be strengthened in the fight against yobs, thieves, rapists and killers.

That means recruiting extra police officers, reopening stations and repairing the damage inflicted over the past eight years.