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England and Wales is ­destined to have the smallest police force in 40 years if Theresa May wins on Thursday.

An analysis by Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson of the Tories’ £850million planned spending cuts shows more than 16,000 police officers could have to go.

And that is on top of the 19,000 the Tories have already got rid of.

Mr Watson told Sunday People : “A vote for Theresa May is a vote for the smallest police force since 1978.”

He said: “She has already said she wants to cut police budgets further and that adds up to another 16,000 officers gone.”

(Image: REUTERS)

The cuts would begin to bite next year as 43 forces face a £332million funding shortfall which will continue year on year until 2022.

There are currently 122,859 police officers in England and Wales.

The projected losses of 16,732 would bring that down to 106,127, below the 1978 levels of 106,732. Labour pledges to reverse the ­decline in numbers by hiring 10,000 more officers if Jeremy Corbyn becomes PM.

Mr Watson will tell activists in Birmingham tomorrow: “As Home Secretary Mrs May promised she could cut police budgets without affecting ­frontline policing.

“And now serious and violent crimes are on the rise again.” Between September 2010 and September 2016 police ­numbers in England and Wales fell by 18,991, or 13 per cent.

(Image: PA)

There were also cuts in special constables and ­police community support officers of seven per cent and 11 per cent ­respectively in the past year alone.

Numbers of ­police in Scotland have risen over the same ­period while there have been smaller cutbacks in the police ­workforce in Northern Ireland.

The PM does not mention police numbers or funding in her manifesto.

Mr Watson said: “Theresa May isn’t a bloody difficult woman.

“She’s a woman who’s finding this all a bit too bloody difficult.