FOREST of Dean MP Matt Bishop has joined colleagues from Gloucester and Stroud in rejecting proposals that could see council tax rise to fund policing in Gloucestershire.

In a joint letter to Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson, Mr Bishop, Gloucester MP Alex McIntyre and Stroud MP Simon Opher said they could not support calls for greater flexibility over the police precept, which would allow higher council tax charges, alongside a one-off Home Office grant for IT systems.

The MPs said the proposals came at a time when residents across the county were already facing significant cost-of-living pressures and argued it was unreasonable to ask local taxpayers to shoulder the burden for what they described as long-standing structural funding issues in policing.

Mr Bishop said the group wanted a more transparent and constructive approach, with central government taking greater responsibility for addressing police funding pressures rather than defaulting to higher local taxation.

In the letter, the MPs also raised concerns about how the case for additional IT funding had been framed.

While acknowledging the need for modern, fit-for-purpose systems in policing, they said no requests for extra IT funding had been made during the period of the previous Conservative government and argued that context should be recognised.

They added that it would be premature to push for major funding decisions ahead of a clearer national approach to policing reform, funding and workforce planning. The MPs stressed that any changes with direct consequences for taxpayers should be considered as part of that wider picture.

The letter also rejected suggestions that refusing a precept rise would inevitably lead to cuts to neighbourhood policing, police staff or frontline services. Instead, the MPs said budget pressures should be addressed openly and in partnership with central government.