Tiff’s tribute to national chair

6 July 2018

Calum Macleod has been praised for taking the helm at the Police Federation of England and Wales following one of the most turbulent times in the organisation’s history.

Tiff Lynch, chair of Leicestershire Police Federation, was commenting after Calum announced that he would not be seeking re-election to the role of national chair.

“Calum took over after his predecessor, Steve White, retired earlier than had been expected and I think he has done a great job, steadying the Federation, helping guide it through the new election process and striving to build effective working relationships with the Government and particularly the Home Office,” says Tiff.

Calum, a South Wales officer, was elected as chair at the end of last year and took up the post on 1 January. His decision not to stand for re-election as chair was, he said, personal and came after a period of very careful consideration.

He explained: “The role of chair is challenging and it has been an honour and privilege to serve as chair and vice-chair prior to that. I was happy to take up the role in a caretaker capacity and since then I have tried to re-focus the Federation and lead an organisation which truly represents the views of rank and file police officers across England and Wales.

“With the role comes great responsibility and I have been fully committed to that, but I do not wish to be considered for national chair at this moment in time. I want to thank all those who have supported me in my role.”

Calum, who was vice-chair from April 2016 and has 22 years’ service, wants to continue as a National Board member if selected, focusing on the issues that are important for the Welsh region.

Nominations for the new national chair closed yesterday (5 July). Details of the nominees will be published next week with all members encouraged to take part in the online vote.

Voting is open from 12 to 30 July with the new chair taking up the post on 1 August.