A police union in Cumbria has spoken out against the Government’s suggestion of blocking of public sector pay rises.

The chair of Cumbria Police Federation, Ed Russell said the prime minister is ‘woefully out of touch with the challenges faced by working people’ in response.

Sunak’s suggestion is linked to his attempts to tackle soaring inflation, but the union argued the effect this may have on working people is far worse than inflation itself.

The statement from the union’s boss comes several months after the latest Police Federation Pay and Morale Survey in January 2023, which reported that 77 per cent of respondents from Cumbria Constabulary said that over the last year, their workload has been ‘too high’ or ‘much too high’, and a further 85 per cent told researchers they were ‘worse off’ financially than they were five months prior, with 98 per cent of them reporting an increase in the cost of living.

Officers’ wellbeing is also faltering, the research showed, with eight in ten saying they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties, and half finding their job ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressful.

16 per cent said they intend to resign from the police service citing pay, morale and how they are treated by the Government as reasons. 

Mr Russell said this week: “The Police Federation of England and Wales withdrew from the Police Remuneration Review Body in 2021 deeming it ‘not fit for purpose’.

“Two years on and nothing has changed.

“The Government continues to flagrantly ignore the findings of the body and have now moved further to even suggest that they block the findings before they have even been published.

“Meanwhile MP’s have seen an increase to their salaries of over £20,000 over the last 14 years.”

In comparison, officers have seen their pay fall by 20 per cent over the past two decades, with junior ranks being disproportionately affected.

The Police Federation of England and Wales this year called for a 17 per cent increase.

National chair, Steve Hartshorn, has predicted ‘brutal times’ ahead for officers.

He said: “The Government must realise that by ignoring police officers, it is ignoring the safety of members of the public.

“Police officers also have bills and rent to pay.

“The Government cannot maintain the view that officers will somehow continue to manage putting their lives at risk every day when they cannot afford to live.

“To mirror the words of the Government, police officer pay must be ‘fair', at the moment it is far from that.”

Earlier this month at the National Council meeting, the Police Federation of England and Wales voted to ballot members on whether the organisation should pursue industrial rights on behalf of our membership.

The National Board will now explore what industrial rights could mean for members.