A musing in praise of the police ...

Written by Peter Bingle, Chairman, Bell Pottinger Public Affairs

Today the Chairman of the Police Federation Paul McKeever will accuse the government of wishing to exact revenge on the police for defeating the proposed police reforms in the 1990s. He is referring, of course, to the controversial reforms proposed by Sir Patrick Sheehy. I could not help myself smiling this morning as I brushed my teeth as I listened to the Today programme. I ran the Police Federation’s successful campaign against the Sheehy proposals and it brought back lots of happy memories.

Let me start with some history. When the then Home Secretary Ken Clarke announced the Sheehy Inquiry during a speech at a Police Federation conference it came out of the blue. The Federation was totally unprepared for it. Luckily for them Alan Eastwood was their chairman. He was a first class operator and the one person in the Federation with the courage and the personality to take on and beat Clarke and Sheehy.

At first Sir Patrick launched a charm offensive. It soon became clear, however, that his real intention was to completely overhaul the police service. The role of constable would no longer be special. Police officers would have fixed term contracts and would be treated like everybody else who worked in the public service. In those days his boss Ken Clarke was not the cuddly old cove he has become today. He was a political bruiser who had taken on the teachers, lawyers and the doctors. He regarded the Police Federation as an old fashioned trade union which needed to be smashed and the police service as woefully inefficient and in need of a complete overhaul. He had two superb advisers – the fragrant Tessa Keswick and the very astute David Ruffley.

Eastwood soon realised that they could not beat Ken Clarke without professional help. Once appointed I persuaded him that they had to be counter intuitive at all times. Clarke would expect them to behave like a trade union. This was precisely what they must not do. Publicly Eastwood and his senior colleagues supported Sir Patrick Sheehy’s inquiry whilst we privately shafted it. In the public’s eyes the issue was all about the quality of policing and making Britain safer. In reality the campaign was all about protecting the pay, rations and benefits of police officers.

Changes of personnel fundamentally changed the debate. Ken Clarke left the Home Office to become Chancellor of the Exchequer and Michael Howard replaced him. Alan Eastwood’s term of office also came to an end. Howard’s appointment was the decisive factor in Sheehy’s more controversial reforms being defeated. The new Chairman of the Federation publicly praised Michael Howard at a time when the Home Secretary was having a very rough time. He responded positively and a new relationship started to develop. It was helped by a number of factors. David Maclean was a superb Police Minister who turned down the chance to enter the Cabinet because of his commitment to the job. There was also a very bright special adviser called David Cameron who understood better than anybody else the need for a Tory government not to fall out with the police.

The key moment was the publication of the Sir Patrick Sheehy’s report. It was essential that Michael Howard in his statement to the House of Commons made the point that this was a report to government rather than a government report. He did so. The Federation then had to ensure that sufficient Tory MPs were brought on side. The highlight was a meeting at Wembley attended by 23,000 police officers. The point of the rally was to show the potential power of the police. Even though everybody realised that it would never be deployed the images of 23,000 police officers in suits behaving impeccably and singing the national anthem with real pride had the desired impact on the Home Office.

Interestingly the star speaker at the rally was not the shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair (who made a very flat speech and bombed) but a very emotional Robert Maclennan who made the speech of his life and received a standing ovation as a result …

When Michael Howard finally came to the House of Commons to give his response to Sir Patrick’s proposed reforms it was clear that the Police Federation had won a famous victory.

The PM and his senior colleagues should be very worried at the language being used at this week’s Police Federation conference. For police leaders to be quoted as saying that this government hates the police service it is clear that something has gone very badly wrong. Tory governments must always support the police. As Kelvin MacKenzie (the then editor of The Sun) once put it during the debate about Sheehy, the government must always support the thin blue line.

Hearing ministers argue that police numbers have no impact on the quality of policing on the ground is palpable nonsense. I am just surprised that Yvette Cooper has thus far proved unable to land a punch on Theresa May and force the government into making a very embarrassing u turn. This is a campaign the Police Federation should and must win. Tory MPs in marginal seats will need very little persuasion to change their minds on this critical issue providing the Federation gets it right with their campaign.

Why has the government fallen out so badly with the police service? Should the police service be treated differently to other public services? What is the solution to the current dispute?