Eastleigh MP joins with other Hampshire MPs to condemn police merger

10.10.08am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 30th Nov 2005

"Wwhat may theoretically be gained through economies of scale is lost through lack of accountability and responsiveness to local communities" said Mr Huhne

Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne has backed Hampshire Constabulary to remain as a stand-alone police force contrary to Government proposals to merge it with Sussex or Thames Valley.

Mr Huhne is backing a parliamentary early day motion that says it is important that police forces build and maintain strong links with local communities and that Hampshire is best served by retaining a stand-alone police force.

"The Government seems to have abandoned all pretence at respecting local accountability. This latest proposal to merge Hampshire with another constabulary is size for size's sake. There is no evidence that we are unable to handle the policing needs of the county within the present structure" said Mr Huhne.

"Moreover, this is just another example of a helter skelter scramble towards centralisation as seen with the amalgamation of county fire control rooms, learning and skills councils and primary care trusts as well as police forces. Ministers' natural reaction is to think that bigger means better, when it usually means worse.

"England is already the most centralised large country in the world. Who pays the piper calls the tune, and 94 per cent of all tax revenue goes through Whitehall compared with an EU average of just a little more than half through other central governments.

"Only one country in the EU is more centralised than Britain, and that is Malta where 100 per cent of tax revenue goes through central government. But Malta has a population only a little larger than Southampton.

"It is a complete mirage to believe that there are great efficiency savings through larger and larger units, as what may theoretically be gained through economies of scale is lost through lack of accountability and responsiveness to local communities" said Mr Huhne.

"Successive British governments under both the Conservatives and Labour have centralised and removed powers from local people, and it is time the trend went into reverse".