New Federation chair is named

11 April 2023

West Mercia Police Federation has named Barry Horton as its new chair.

Barry, who formally takes office on 1 May, said he was honoured to be chosen and is looking forward to representing the membership.

He said: “It is, of course, an honour to be selected as branch chair and I am looking forward to getting on with the job and representing West Mercia Police officers.

“I’ve always taken notice of what the Home Office does or doesn’t do for policing and this feels like a natural step.

“Above all else, I am here to help our members. It has been a tumultuous time for policing pretty much since I joined the service and there is lots of work to do.”

Barry has backed Police Federation demands for a complete overhaul of the police pay system.

“Officers deserve a pay rise yearly and that goes without saying it seems that people forget that we’re also humans and life costs go up and we need to be able to afford to live,” he said.

Barry joined the police in 2005 and became a Federation workplace representative in 2013. He has worked in CID and will continue in that role until taking up his full-time Federation role.

Members with any inquiries should continue to contact the main branch office until Barry takes up the chair’s role on 1 May.