The National Police Association is a new, volunteer-run movement aiming to end the Police Federation’s statutory monopoly and give rank-and-file officers genuine choice over who represents them. In this interview, co-founder Martin Buhagiar explains why he believes many officers feel “spoken at, not for,” and how cases like the pensions challenge and expulsions from the Federation have convinced him that a single, compulsory model of representation is no longer fair or sustainable.
Martin outlines the NPA’s campaign to amend the Police Act 1996, built around Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of association), and their ongoing judicial review against the Home Office. He also describes how the NPA is currently funded, the support it is receiving from serving officers and MPs across parties, and why he thinks now is the moment to reshape how UK police officers’ voices are heard.
Takeaways
- The National Police Association aims to represent rank and file police officers.
- Its core mission is to break the Police Federation’s statutory monopoly.
- They argue officers deserve the same choice of representation as other workers.
- The campaign is based on Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights
- Many feel the Federation fails them, yet even expelled officers still feel forced to pay.
- Opting out of the Federation can leave officers “on their own” for support.
- The NPA has political backing despite being fully volunteer-run and donation-funded.
- A judicial review against the Home Office seeks to amend the 1996 Police Act.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the National Police Association
02:07 Challenging the Statutory Monopoly
04:18 The Need for Choice in Representation
06:17 Funding and Support for the Association
08:26 Current Landscape of UK Policing
11:55 Conclusion and Future Aspirations
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