What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Police officers are thousands of pounds worse off since the Tories came to power according to new analysis from Labour.

The freeze and cap on public sector pay has left wages failing to keep pace with inflation, leaving salaries falling in real terms.

Labour analysis of Government data shows that the average police officer has seen their wages fall by nearly £6,000 in real terms since 2010.

And experienced police officers are leaving the service in droves with voluntary resignations soaring and a national crisis in detective numbers.

Louise Haigh MP, Shadow Police & Crime Minister, said: “It is no surprise that police morale is at rock bottom when the Tories have spent seven years asking them to do ever more while slashing their pay year after year.

(Image: Getty)

“These stark figures show that front line police officers are now thousands of pounds worse off than they were in 2010, and the government’s plans to continue with the public sector pay cap will only make matters worse.

"We are now seeing disillusioned officers flooding out of the service, with resignations skyrocketing.

“Seven years of Tory cuts to police numbers and pay have left a demoralised force at its lowest strength on record being asked to fight soaring crime and record demand.

“A Labour government would end the public sector pay cap so that our police get the salary they deserve, and fund the recruitment of another ten thousand officers to restore neighbourhood policing.”

(Image: Internet Unknown)

“Current pay conditions fail to recognise the highly demanding role police play in protecting the public and it’s making our members feel demoralised and undervalued.

"The Police service is at breaking point - we cannot afford to lose any more officers and we need to look after the ones we still have.

“The government has an opportunity to start redressing the balance when they decide on this year’s pay award, which is already overdue and must be announced immediately”.

Officers are facing record demand as crime surges nationwide and with police plugging the gap left by retreating public services.

A mass survey of 30,000 rank and file police officers found more than four in five felt they were not paid fairly considering the pressure they are under.

The drop in real wages for the average police officer, a consequence of a freeze and then cap on public sector pay, has left police across the country significantly worse off after seven years of Conservative Government.

Meanwhile a survey of rank and file police officers found morale plummeting as anger over pay and workload increases.

The survey of 30,000 police officers by the Police Federation found that two-thirds had low-morale with more than one in ten cops struggling to afford essentials and 86 per cent feeling they are not paid fairly considering the stress and strains of the job.