Fed chair 'disappointed' after National Council votes to extend Federation elections to every five years

18 October 2023

The chair of West Midlands Police Federation says he is ‘disappointed’ after the National Council (NC) saw a vote being cast in favour of extending the electoral cycle for Federation representatives from three to up to five years.

Rich Cooke, who along with branch secretary Tim Rogers, attended the meeting (on 26 September) voted against the proposal, which requires Home Office approval before taking effect.

The proposal was backed by around 84 per cent of the National Council, with West Midlands Police Federation among the minority.

Rich said: “West Midlands Police Federation voted against this proposal because we believe that while there are, in my opinion, excellent, understandable reasons to have longer terms of office as a principle, it is also wrong to change this within the current term.

“We believe that by extending the elections by two years, we will be denying members the opportunity to have their say, stand as workplace representatives or challenge incumbents for local branch positions – as I did - or senior leadership roles within PFEW, such as the national chair or secretary.”

West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke voted against the proposal.

The current triennial election process was confirmed in 2017 as part of the Police Federation Regulations.

As it stands, the elections are set to take place next summer (2024), starting with the election of new workplace representatives in all 43 Police Federation branches across England and Wales.

This would be followed by branch board elections, principal officials, branch chair and national board members, ending with the national chair election - all to be complete by the end of spring 2025.

Rich continued: “I also believe there is an inherent problem in asking post holders to make a decision on their own future or that of their role, because of the appearance or reality of a conflict of interest.

“I was elected for three years and colleagues voted for me with that in mind. I am totally against any change other than one that the membership consents to.

“I am disappointed with the outcome. But is now up to the Home Office to decide whether they will consent to this.”

The National Council is made up of local branch chairs and secretaries, as well as representatives with protected characteristics.

Those in favour of the extension argued that a significant amount of time is currently being spent on the electoral process during the three-year cycle.

Factoring the time being taken to conduct as well as prepare for the process, it is believed that the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) is spending up to 18 months of each three-year period dealing with the elections.

Rich explained that in the meeting, it was also deemed ‘counterproductive’ for PFEW to continue with the triennial election process, considering the national branch is currently undertaking a programme of reform which includes a review of the structure and governance for decision making. The review follows the recent Employment Tribunal decision against the Police Federation in connection with the pension discrimination claim.

PFEW will now be formally approaching the Home Office to request a change in the Federation’s election cycle.

Explaining reasons behind the decision, PFEW chief executive Mukund Krishna said: “Following the Employment Tribunal’s judgment in the Police Pension Challenge, the Federation has decided to commission an independent review that will examine the statutory basis of the organisation, its purpose, rules, funding and governance.

“We have a huge task of addressing the challenges brought by the judgment. Time is pivotal in doing this and, obviously, we will need time to implement the organisational changes based on the independent review’s recommendations. An extension of the election cycle will be very helpful in driving the changes to ensure we provide the best possible support to our reps and members and the organisation is fit for the future.”