With current principal office holders Brian Booth and Melanie Warnes due to retire from policing in coming weeks, the National Board has made decisions to replace substantive roles.
Following elections held this week, Paul Williams will serve as Deputy National Chair and Neil Clarke as Deputy National Secretary. Paul and Neil will immediately step up to serve as Acting National Chair and Acting National Secretary respectively. Paul Crowley and Hayley Aley have, in turn, been elected to serve as Acting Deputy National Chair and Acting Deputy National Secretary.
The arrangements provide continuity of leadership and ensure the Federation remains focused on representing members, making their voices heard.
Paul Williams said:
“I am honoured to take on this role at such an important time for our members. Our latest Pay and Morale Survey lays bare the scale of the crisis facing policing and the impact it is having on officers and their families.
“We will be out across the country meeting as many members as possible over the coming weeks and months, hearing directly from them and making sure their priorities remain at the heart of everything we do.
“And we will make sure those voices are heard loud and clear by politicians, chief officers and decision-makers. Our members deserve a Federation that stands up for them, speaks plainly and fights their corner.”
Neil Clarke said:
“Members should expect openness, honesty and a relentless focus on delivery from us. The Federation is changing, and that transformation must result in an organisation that members can trust, that listens to them and delivers for them.
“There is a huge amount of work ahead, but our focus is straightforward: represent our members properly, be open about the decisions we take and make sure the Federation is fit to meet the challenges policing now faces. That is an approach I will take in to negotiation with government and chiefs as much as individual members kitting up for duty today.”
