Copped Enough: we were right about the impact of cuts

20 May 2025

The consequences of Theresa May’s ‘cry wolf’ speech continue to be felt in policing a decade later, says West Mercia Police Federation.

It is 10 years to the day since Ms May accused the Federation of ‘scaremongering’ with its warnings about the impact of deep cuts to funding, to police numbers, and to pay and pensions.

Ms May made the comments during her keynote speech at the 2015 Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) conference.

Then-Home Secretary Theresa May.

But Steve Butler, speaking on behalf of West Mercia Police Federation, said the warnings have long been a reality, with officers ‘underpaid and overworked’.

Steve said: “We always said that cuts have consequences and we’ve been seeing those consequences over the past decade and more.

“Our members are underpaid and overworked. They increasingly face the threat of violence for doing their job.

Confrontational

“Survey after survey shows that morale is low, our members don’t feel valued, and that retention is a very real issue.

“It could have been very different if Ms May when she was Home Secretary, had listened to and acted upon our very real concerns.

“But instead she chose a confrontational approach, the consequences of which we continue to feel today.”

PFEW has today released a video to mark the tenth anniversary of Ms May’s speech as part of its new campaign Copped Enough – What Police Take Home is Criminal.

The campaign was launched earlier this month to expose the police pay crisis. 

The video includes excerpts from Ms May’s speech, along with statistics that illustrate how wide of the mark she was.

Recorded crime

The figures show that since 2010 police officer pay has reduced by 21 per cent in real terms, while the number of officers has decreased by six per cent.

The figures highlighted in the video also include a rise of 44 per cent since 2015 in police recorded crime rates per 1,000 population.

Police resignations have risen by 142 per cent since 2018, with more than 9,000 leaving the service last year.

The video highlights that in 2024 there were 45,000 assaults on officers recorded in England and Wales – more than 123 each day – and more than 18 police officers die by suicide every year.

Steve ended: “We urge this government to take a very different approach to Ms May and work with us for the good of policing and our communities because our members have Copped Enough.”

READ MORE: PEEL inspection findings are not a reflection of officers' hard work, says Fed chair.