Police Leadership Commission Report

Chris Vince Excerpts

Monday 6th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

rose—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Mr Vince, you have moved. No wonder it is so quiet in your usual part of the Chamber.

[Chris Vince]

This is the closest I am ever going to get to the Front Bench. [Laughter.]

Having spoken to police officers across my constituency of Harlow, I know that the two things they want to do are keep my constituency safe and—to paraphrase a new Labour manifesto pledge—tackle crime and the causes of crime. Can the Minister outline what she is going to do on the back of this review to ensure we take away the barriers, so that police officers can do their job of protecting my community and keeping the country safe?

[Sarah Jones]

I think my hon. Friend would look very fine at this Dispatch Box. I hope he gets to be here and has the privilege I have had of being in this role.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we need to strip out all the bureaucracy and nonsense that the police have to deal with. All of us who have been out on response with police or been out with our neighbourhood police, or who have spent time with sergeants, know just how much bureaucracy, form-filling and time-wasting they face. We are trying to rip all of that away through reforms and technology so that the police can focus on cutting crime and keeping people safe, which is what they go into the force to do and what we all expect them to do. That is what I want to see, for the people of Harlow and people across the whole of this country.