Feeling safe in your home, on your street, and in your community is vital. Unfortunately, my mailbag suggests fewer and fewer local people have confidence in the safety of our neighbourhoods. They are not alone. According to YouGov polling, two in five voters (43%) feel that crime has gone up in their area over the last few years, and two thirds believe that the Government is handling crime badly. Put simply, after 13 years of Conservative failure, British people no longer feel safe.

Levels of violent crime are high, and more crimes are going unsolved. The Conservatives have hollowed out neighbourhood policing. I liaise regularly with local police officials, and I am constantly impressed by the hard work of our uniformed officers and the determination of our local police leaders to drive improvement. Yet they are doing so with one arm in cuffs, because there are simply fewer of them, doing the work of many. The Tories have cut police community support officers by 47% in the North West. That’s almost half the people we invested in to know their communities inside out simply gone, lost to public service, that investment carelessly wasted.

What does this mean for areas like our’s day to day? That where there should be security, there is worry. Parents worry about their children playing in the park or being targeted online. Pensioners worry about scams or being robbed in the street. Small businesses worry they will be targeted by thieves or vandals. Knife crime plagues too many communities, women feel less safe on the streets, and anti-social behaviour ruins lives without consequence.

The Conservatives have turned their backs on communities, run down our vital public services and undermined respect for the rule of law. When things go wrong, too often no one comes. That’s not ok to me.

Under Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Labour has a clear plan to make progress: to prevent crime, punish criminals and protect the public. We will introduce 13,000 more PCSOs; halve serious violent crime, and violence against women and girls; and bring in Respect Orders with criminal sanctions for persistent antisocial behaviour. Our plan is to raise confidence in the police and criminal justice system to its highest levels, within a decade.

This is a fundamental priority for Labour. The last Labour Government pledged to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime, and the stats show they succeeded. The next Labour Government has a clear mission to make Britain’s streets safer again. Anyone who has been a victim of crime will recognise just how important this mission is.