As Britons go to the polls Thursday to elect a new government, one issue has become a dominant theme just days before the election.
The latest terror attack on London Bridge in which 8 people were killed has raised questions about UK security and whether cuts to police funding has impacted the authorities ability to keep the public safe.
The London Bridge attack came just two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a pop concert in Manchester and has put the issue at the forefront of people's minds, as the country decides on the next government. From London, Catherine Drew reports.
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Saturday's terror attack near London Bridge caused chaos and panic and people ran for their lives. It was the third attack to take place in Britain since March…
It led to an immediate toughening in tone from Prime Minister theresa may
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"There is, to be frank, far too much tolerance of extremism in our country. So we need to become far more robust in identifying it and stamping it out."
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And just a day before the election, Mrs May was suggesting human rights laws could be softened in a bid to fight terrorism.
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However the opposition labour party insists it is not a weakening of human rights laws that is needed to fight terrorism, but a reversal of the budget cuts seen in the police force in recent years.
As former Home Secretary for six years, many are pointing to Theresa May as the main architect of those cuts.
Her rival for the top job, is Jeremy corbyn, leader of the labour party.
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"You cannot protect the public on the cheap. The police and security services must get the resources they need, not 20,000 police cuts."
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Labour is promising to recruit ten thousand extra police officers which they saw is crucial to gaining information at a community level. Questions have also been raised as it emerges UK intelligence had downgraded an investigation into one of the attackers, while italian authorities had warned them about a second.
All this may explain an impression the Conservatives, while still leading in the polls to varying degrees, have not been able to capitalise on security as an election issue.
Even as they claim Jeremy Corbyn has a track record of being soft on terrorist groups.
Kevin Schofield is editor of politicshome.com
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"The Tories have been hammering away at this national security argument, being that Jeremy Corbyn basically wouldn't keep the country safe, whereas the Conservatives would, but again, they've been hammering away at that for the last couple of weeks now and it doesn't seem to be making any difference."
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Theresa May's conservative party are still expected to win the election, but her reputation as a strong and stable leader…. her mantra early in the campaign….has been severely damaged by these security concerns. And an election which just weeks ago was supposed to be cake walk for the conservatives …..dominated by Brexit, Britain's exit from the European Union…. now looks much more unpredictable.
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