The Military Covenant Vs the Police.

There has been much anger of late in respects to how we, the general public feel about the way we’re being governed. We were sold on the rhetoric, perhaps we feel foolish however the movement for an alternative to the change we’ve implemented is gathering pace.

Our Coalition Government is generally assumed to be cutting costs too fast and too deep. The cuts have been spread wide across the public sector and the reality of the rising cost of living is starting to bite. Anti cuts groups are stirring and trade union groups have recently announced their intention to strike hard at institutions across the UK and the consensus is that this is just the beginning. Mass movements such as this gather pace quickly and measures must be in place to police a population pissed off, but the police force here is still reeling from potential redundancies and wage cuts taking place in their very own austerity microcosm. Almost half of our police officers will be affected and this brings me to the military covenant.

The military covenant has roots in history which can be traced back 400 years, though many may be unfamiliar with its purpose. It is designed “to be a way of measuring whether the government and society at large have kept to their obligations to support members of the armed forces”. David Cameron promised in June 2010 to arrange for the covenant to be enshrined in law. This remained one of those ‘in the pipeline’ things until February the following year when, after a series of high profile embarrassments for the Ministry of Defence, (emails sent to soldiers informing them of their sacking were leaked to the press and many RAF trainees only found out they were being dismissed when reading about it in the papers) Cameron broke his promise on the covenant, deciding instead that it could be adequately covered in an annual report to parliament. At the time, defence secretary Dr Liam Fox said of the covenant “it cannot be a wish list separated from the economic reality in which we find ourselves”, meaning that if we really are all in this together then the army can be no different. The Labour opposition naturally used an opposition day debate to push for a U-turn on this U-turn however the motion was defeated by 86 votes.

Whist all of this was occurring between the cabinet and the MoD, the Home Office was busily working on plans for spending cuts across the police force. The way the government will eventually manage to implement precisely the cuts it needs to within the police force will be similar to the way the NHS reforms were amended recently. Firstly the possibility of drastic spending cuts is mooted to the press. In July 2010 the BBC reported that as many as 60000 police officers could lose their jobs as a result. 60000. Out of 140000. Cue understandable anxiety from the public at large courtesy of our old friend fear of crime, predictable calls from the opposition for caution and revision and obvious concern amongst the force itself.

By September that year, after much consternation this figure was down to a mere 40000 and there was already talk of police officers being more inclined to take a cut in benefits (i.e. wages, expenses etc.) rather than see so many colleagues lose their jobs. This is precisely what a government needs, and so soon too – acceptance by the affected that measures must indeed be taken to reduce their costs – it gives them the relative freedom to play with the figures until they make sense and appear fairer for all and much more reasonable, as if they’ve done you a favour.

They haven’t, because then the inevitable ‘comprehensive review’ into police pay occurs. These reviews are usually the most ‘wide ranging’ or ‘in depth’ for X amount of years. In respects to police pay and conditions, the Winsor Review will be 'the most wide ranging in 30 years’. Such a review will serve to allay fears of a crisis initially – the number of officers losing their jobs was down to just 10000 in February 2011 – though is generally a chance for the government to re-package the measures until they’re fit for public consumption. A mere month later and job losses have become wage cuts and suddenly we’re all in this together again, the winsor review is expected to show that 40% of our police force will be affected by this particular austerity measure. It is of course all absolutely necessary. The 2 year freeze on police pay will only save £350m, and the fiscally responsible government elected to solve the deficit issue are still borrowing more than this each month so, something’s got to give.

Having pissed off the thin blue line, the people who stand outside night and day and stop the angry proles getting in, what would you do? You’ve done well so far, managing to renege on promises which won you votes, announce cuts to policing which raise fear of crime and yet, with a clever bit of spin you have people nodding begrudgingly along and remain in contention in the polls, you’re saving money! But man, you’ve pissed off the police dude… They’re supposed to protect you but now they know you won’t look after them. What you need now is a body of men and women who won’t necessarily do what’s right, but what they’re told. If there really is popular anger then this is imperative.

So obviously you dig the military covenant out of the bin. U-turn on the U-turn and while some might think you’re indecisive, you knew what you were doing along. They gave you a mandate to govern and you are indeed governing. Enshrine in law enhanced rights for military servicemen and their families, from education and social care, to health and housing, to compensation for injury and pensions. We're not exactly all in this together as a result, but what sane person could deny that this is the right thing to do?

Giving the armed forces exactly what they need to care for themselves and their families is exactly the right thing to do, providing the reason is right. If you want soldiers to fight our wars and protect our peace and only have their minds on the job then fine. If you do it purely in the know that it gives you every opportunity to dismantle the police force then not so fine.

The military covenant will be passed into law shortly before the full details of the police pay review are enclosed and shall act as a handy deterrent to any dissent in the ranks methinks. The government have managed to draw a line in the sand between 2 vital components of society and still take what they want from it. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others… they didn’t even need to use the scapegoat this time, close call Dr. Fox.