MP vows to give officers a voice following meet with West Mercia Police Federation

26 November 2023

The MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham has pledged to give West Mercia Police Federation a voice in parliament following a ‘very productive meeting’ with the branch’s secretary and conduct lead.

MP Daniel Kawczynski met with Pete Nightingale and Lesley Williams on Tuesday (21 November) by way of engaging and strengthening relationships with local MPs.

Pete said the meeting was ‘very positive’, giving representatives from West Mercia Police Federation the opportunity to discuss some of the ongoing issues impacting police officers with Mr Kawczynski.

“Meetings with MPs are hugely beneficial for everyone involved. Ultimately, we can bang the drum as much as we want locally, but if we really want to see a difference, these engagements are crucial,” said Pete, who told that the event was open to all MPs local to the West Mercia area.

“I hope that from such meetings, MPs like Mr Kawczynski will be able to better understand the issues we are facing and then represent us in parliament, giving us a voice when it really matters.”

PICTURE: (left to right) - West Mercia Police Federation conduct lead Lesley Williams,
West Mercia Police Federation secretary Pete Nightingale, MP Daniel Kawczynski and
national deputy chair Tiff Lynch.

Pete explained that Mr Kawczynski spoke to them about the concerns he had in his constituencies, which were mainly around anti-social behaviour and rural crime.

“Upon hearing Mr Kawczynski’s concerns, we then spoke to him about several issues that are impacting our officers that are likely to therefore be impacting his constituencies,” continued Pete.

“We spoke about the ongoing growing pressures of the job and capacity issues. We talked about officers having to go from job to job, with very few breaks. We highlighted the issues surrounding prioritising and discussed so many of our members are finding it a challenge to know what to prioritise, when they have so many tasks going on at the same time - including multiple time-consuming administrative jobs.

“We also raised issues surrounding the wider criminal justice system and the impact the backlog of court hearings is having on the public, as well as officers.

“To be honest, I think Mr Kawczynski was shocked to hear how tough so many of our members are finding policing at the moment.”

Following their conversation, Pete said that Mr Kawczynski has now pledged to write to the chair of the 1922 Committee - a committee of all backbench Conservative MPs that meet weekly - about the issues police officers are facing.

He also wants to further engage with West Mercia Police Federation so he can highlight policing issues during Question Time with the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, which is held every Wednesday.

And finally, he has pledged to engage with the Home Secretary about the concerns raised by the Federation.

The meeting was held at Portcullis House and was also attended by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) deputy chair Tiff Lynch.

Tiff, who is also national parliamentary lead and sits on the Federation’s Parliamentary Working Group echoed Pete’s comments, adding that it was ‘amazing to hear from a Conservative MP that wants to prioritise policing”.

“The meeting was very promising,” said Tiff.

As part of their #573 campaign, the Federation’s Parliamentary Working Group has made it their ambition to facilitate meetings between all 573 MPs and their local branches.

“We help organise these engagements and invite local MPs and the relevant Police Federation branches down to Portcullis House to meet. The aim being, to either start or reignite long-term, strong relationships with local MPs.”

Tiff explained that so many of the Federation’s campaigns are propelled thanks to successful engagement with local MPs.

She added: “Engagement with MPs can be very powerful and they give the Police Federation a chance to get our voices heard.

“You only have to look at the #SimplifyDG6 Campaign and how much speed this has picked up since we engaged with local MPs. This is a positive example of how essential these meetings are.”