Credit: Anderson Photography
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to tackle low morale, cut police bureaucracy and recruit 10,000 additional officers.
Badenoch told delegates at the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Annual Conference that she wanted to see officers ‘love their jobs again’.
Speaking on day two of the conference, Badenoch outlined her party’s plans to support policing, acknowledging that an already challenging profession had become ‘even harder in recent years’.
She opened her speech by acknowledging the increasing risks to officer safety, evidenced by the tragic on-duty deaths of PC Matthew Blades, PC Tom Clough and PC Andrew Harper.
“I know that some of you have to make difficult decisions every single day, where sometimes, you only have seconds to decide what to do in dangerous situations most of us will never have to experience,” she said.
“There are incidents which may not have happened altogether if there had been more officers in the area. If we want a police force which keeps the public safe, and maintains law and order in our country, we must fix these injustices for you.”
Badenoch underlined her commitment to making these fixes happen, saying ‘I am not scared to wade in, and I am not scared to back the police’, and that ‘too often these days, we fail to recognise sacrifice and service’.
She shared how the Conservatives intended to do this, outlining an aim to minimise bureaucracy and paperwork for officers, allowing them to spend more time on frontline duties and provide crucial resilience to colleagues.
She said a similar outcome would be achieved through technology, where best-in-class AI and live facial recognition could be used to automate more admin tasks.
Badenoch set out an ambition to introduce 10,000 new officers to the profession, with 2,000 being dedicated to notorious crime hotspots.
Recruitment
Despite expressing confidence around ‘recruiting the right people and preparing them for the realities of our goals’, she said that new personnel were ‘only part of the answer’.
“We also need to make sure that once we have good officers, we keep them, instead of simply bringing in new ones to replace the good ones who have left,” she said.
“The Police Federation’s recent surveys on how officers are feeling in their jobs makes for grim reading.
“More than half of you are reporting low morale, and nearly a quarter of you, say you intend to resign either within two years or as soon as you can.
“Policing used to be a career people loved, but I know that many officers don’t feel differently nowadays by accident.
A job you love
“This should be a job you love. We want you to feel that way, and we are going to make that happen again.”
Badenoch also discussed economic and financial factors impacting policing and the lives of officers.
“I am not going to stand here and promise something without a plan to pay for it,” she said.
“Until we fix our economy, it will be very difficult to afford real pay rises – but once we do that, we will become a richer country, and then we will be able to pay.
“In the meantime, police officers will benefit from the other policies we will introduce, such as abolishing stamp duties.”
Transformation programme
The Conservative leader, who has been in position since 2024, closed her speech by saying she wanted to see PFEW’s transformation programme succeed.
“I believe in rewarding people who work hard, take responsibility, and contribute to this country – and I know that you do too, which is why you’re doing this job,” she said.
“Unlike NHS staff, teachers and civil servants, you guys can’t go on strike. That makes the Police Federation’s role particularly important.
“You need a strong, credible organisation that represents your interests, speaks up for you, and makes sure your concerns are heard.
“We cannot shy away from the fact that the Police Federation is currently facing some significant challenges, and I know that work is being done to arrest these challenges.
Constructive relationship
“The Conversative Party are following that work closely, because it matters to us that you have a Federation you can trust and rely on – and it matters that the Government, in particular, listens to officers, and it needs to listen to officers through a body that is effective and accountable.
“That’s why I want a constructive relationship with the Federation, and all our officers, based on honesty and mutual respect, because we all want to make policing better.”