Post date: May 10, 2012 3:27:11 PM
LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (MAY 10, 2012) (REUTERS) - Thousands of British police officers joined striking border officials and healthcare workers on Thursday (May 10) in a protest against wage caps, pension reforms and other austerity measures.
"Angry" and "demoralised" - Britain's police officers take to the streets in their thousands to protest spending cuts and reforms.
The rare sight of some 20,000 off-duty police officers marching through London will be particularly embarrassing for Cameron, whose centre-right Conservatives pride themselves on being the party of law and order.
Chairman of the Police Federation, Paul McKeever, told the huge crowd that they were "the best police force in the world."
In the past year approximately 7,000 have lost their jobs within the police force. Job losses are expected to rise by a further 16,000 in the coming years.
Cuts to police budgets and a government-commissioned report that recommended allowing officers to be sacked, pay cuts for some and raising the pension age, have all caused disquiet.
"When you cut policing by up 20 percent, the only thing you get more of is not more policing - you get more disorder, you get more crime and you get more anti-social behaviour and that's why we are here today; to say to the public 'we don't want to see that'. Already police officers across the country, in the first year of these cuts have been saying to us, they themselves are feeling less safe," said McKeever.
He said police officers were "demoralised" not only at budget cuts, but also proposed changes to the way the service runs, including plans to privatise parts.
Marchers wore white caps - each representing a job already lost - and black caps, which represented a potential job loss if current austerity plans are to be actioned.
They were worried about not only their own finances, but also the future of the force as a whole.
"Angry to say the least - I've got two children, I've got to look after my family and my wife," said one officer.
"I serve my community and I expected to be treated fairly," said another officer who has been with the force for 18 years.
The Conservatives and their junior Liberal Democrat partners have vowed to press ahead with unpopular austerity plans despite both parties suffering badly in local council elections last week amid discontent that the country had fallen back into recession after two years of deep spending cuts.
Police officers have been legally barred from taking industrial action since the 1990s.
Thursday's strike by other public sector workers will include teachers, healthcare workers and lecturers as well as members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union which represents the likes of tax officials and immigration staff at airports.
Thursday's protest is unlikely to be the end of the action.
Unite union has already warned that public spending cuts justified action during London's Olympic Games which start in July.