West Midlands MPs express support for Federation at Westminster gathering

13 December 2022

Federation national deputy chair Tiff Lynch with the event sponsor Louie French MP.

Three of the region’s MPs were among 51 politicians who attended a gathering at the House of Commons on Wednesday organised by the Police Federation.

Labour’s Steve McCabe, who represents Selly Oak, and the Conservative MPs for Dudley North and South, Marco Longhi and Mike Wood respectively, met with national Federation officials and were updated on current campaigns.

Afterwards Mr McCabe said he was keen to meet with West Midlands Police Federation in due course to continue the discussion.

Tim Rogers, secretary of West Midlands Police Federation, said: “We are delighted that so many MPs, including our local representatives, were able to make the reception at Westminster.

“The important thing is that we can build on these connections to bring forward meaningful changes for our members, such as we’ve done before with the Protect the Protectors campaign for tougher sentencing around officer assaults, and police driver protections that I was personally involved in. And there is much to do.

“We will follow up the offer of a meeting with Mr McCabe and hope that all of our county’s MPs will be able to support the Federation’s campaigns going forward.”

Rich Cooke, West Midlands Police Federation branch chair, said he would raise local campaigns with the regional MPs at any future meeting.

“We are currently campaigning for all frontline officers to have access to Taser training and to be able to carry the devices and we are all calling on chief officers to empower colleagues to use stop and search as a means to tackle knife violence,” said Rich.

“I would also like to see specific action around pay, and would like to get a commitment from all parties to sign up to collective bargaining.”

The event was opened by the Police Federation of England and Wales deputy chair Tiff Lynch who is also the staff association’s Parliamentary lead.

She told MPs: “We won’t leave here today without an ask: for you to spread the word among your colleagues and recognise the unique position police hold, as they continue to hold the thin blue line and service our communities 365 days a year.

“We are entering the Christmas period and it is going to be incredibly busy. Our officers are out there working extremely hard, and they are tired.

“The thin blue line is broken, and without sufficient investment in policing, officers will not be able to keep up with new technology innovations criminals use, will not be able to stretch resources to attend all crimes and, ultimately, will not be to keep our communities safe from the rise in violent crime.”

During the event, which was sponsored by Bexley and Sidcup MP Louie French, Federation representatives spoke to MPs including shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, Tom Pursglove, Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, former Home Secretary Priti Patel and former policing minister Kit Malthouse.

Other guests included members of the House of Lords and police and crime commissioners and discussions focussed on the pressures faced by police officers, the lack of investment in policing and the need for fair pay, conditions and recognition.

In addition to the #MedalsforHeroes campaign for an honorary medal that will be awarded to those who work in the emergency services killed in the line of duty, other Federation campaigns championed at the event were:

#FairPayForPolice – calling for alternative to the unjust police pay review mechanism that has impacted officers for years and been the source of disputes with successive governments. The Federation is calling for a pay rise to cover the cost of living crisis which ties into the Early Day Motion 547 tabled by Emma Lewell-Buck MP.

#SimplifyDG6 – changes to the Crown Prosecution Service guidance on disclosure has impeded justice and has seen victims of various crimes withdraw from active participation due to officers having to find at least an extra four hours to spend on redacting case material at the pre-charge stage. The Federation is lobbying the Government for amendments to the General Data Protection Regulation, Data Protection Act 2018 and the disclosure guidance itself to rectify the damaging and time-consuming problems the current legislation creates.

#TimeLimits – the Federation wants a time limit of 12 months for disciplinary proceedings being brought against officers to be introduced.

Reflecting on the event, Tiff added: “It has been a great success and we have a number of MPs willing to support us in the House of Commons moving forward. We will not stop here, and we will continue engaging with MPs.”