Spending Review: chair calls for better police pay 10 years after 'crying wolf' speech

10 June 2025

Ten years ago, then-Home Secretary Theresa May stood up and accused the Police Federation of ‘crying wolf’. She dismissed concerns about the damage austerity would do to policing as scaremongering.

A decade on, the picture in policing - and here in Northamptonshire - makes one thing painfully clear: the Federation was not crying wolf. The Federation was telling the truth.

Today, the concerns raised back then have come to pass. Warnings were made about attrition, recruitment struggles, and the irreversible loss of experienced officers. Now those problems define the frontline.

 

Former Home Secretary Theresa May.

 

The chair of Northamptonshire Police Federation Sam Dobbs says re-watching Ms May’s infamous speech fuels emotions of frustration and disappointment.

“At the time, these warnings were brushed off,” he says, adding: “Yet here we are, 10 years later, and we are struggling to retain officers. We are finding it harder to recruit. Experience is walking out the door. And those who remain face rising violence, falling public confidence, and a government that I feel, continues to say all the right things, but does very little to back them up.

“But this isn’t about being right in hindsight. It’s about the damage being done right now – and the fundamental challenges we continue to face as police officers.”

Crisis

Sam is once again calling for the Government to reconsider the current funding formula within Northamptonshire - which currently means local officers do not receive the South East Allowance.”

His words come after the acting chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) teamed up with the president of the Police Superintendents’ Association Nick Smart to highlight the crisis policing is facing. 

The pair have written a joint statement warning that policing is 'facing 'a national emergency', as pressure mounts on Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she prepares to set police budgets in Wednesday’s spending review. 

Sam added: “This is as good a time as any for the Government to look at how Northamptonshire Police is funded. The current formula isn’t fair and doesn’t reflect the cost of living and house prices in parts of the county.

“Our neighbouring Forces, Bedfordshire and Thames Valley, both receive the South East Allowance, so why don’t we?

“We police a county which has seen its population increase by 12.5 per cent. Our Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s (PFCC) view is that we should have 2.8 officers per 1,000 people. Yet, according to the PFCC we actually only have 1.99 officers. The number of officers in Northamptonshire is decreasing while the population is increasing, and we cannot shy away from that. 

 

Branch chair Sam Dobbs.

 

“Awarding our members the allowance would be a great start in rebuilding the trust between Northamptonshire Police and the Government - and hopefully a good incentive to get more officers working in our county.”

Sam's comments come a decade after Ms May’s speech at the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) conference on 20 May 2015, when Ms May said that despite previous cuts to police budgets, crime had fallen and officer numbers were rising, insisting that policing could do more with less.

However, since 2010, police officers have faced a real-terms pay cut of 21 per cent, while the number of officers has decreased by six per cent. In the same period, police-recorded crime rates per 1,000 population have risen by 44 per cent.

Officer welfare has deteriorated significantly. In 2024 alone, there were 45,000 recorded assaults on officers in England and Wales, which averaged 123 assaults daily. Tragically, more than 18 police officers die by suicide each year

Sam said that policing has always been built on something very few professionals require to the same degree, and that is vocation. 

He continued: “Policing takes a certain skill and knowledge. It’s a vocation that sees officers run towards danger, while others run away from it. But it’s that vocation, that sense of duty, that keeps our officer going back and doing it all again the next day.

Taken for granted

“But how long can they keep giving? While this benefits society, it will have its limits.

“Policing relies on that sense of duty - of service - and yet, when that goodwill is abused or taken for granted, it becomes one of the most corrupt forms of exploitation.

“What’s happening in policing now isn’t a crisis waiting to happen. It’s already here.”

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

The campaign lays bare the reality of policing today and the high price officers are paying.

Sam added: “We were accused of crying wolf, but sadly, all of our concerns have come to fruition. But it’s those concerns and the fundamental challenges our members continue to face that drive the Federation both locally and nationally.

“As your Federation, we will continue to speak out - not to dwell on the past, but to fight for the future of our members and the safety of the public we serve. It’s time for change.”

READ MORE: Officer fears facial scaring after vicious attack.