On Twitter, people started using a hashtag #noconfidenceintheresamay within their tweets. It appeared to be being used in a comical way; people were coming together and finding a way to get through it all. I believe @SirIanBlair & @OfficerWhoever came up with the hashtag. Police and their families were being hit hard. Public support became amazing, and still is. Over a few days I started to realise that this was quite a serious matter and lots of people up and down the country felt the same way.
@SirIanBlair and I attempted to get the hashtag trending. Mostly for fun, but with a bit of hope that the media or government, may start to listen. Lots of people joined in, it was a fantastic attempt, but we didn’t manage it. We didn’t understand the rules of getting something trending. We immediately felt that we wanted to try again.
The following day, @sirIanBlair suggested we set up a Facebook page; I was able to assist in doing so. The page: http://www.facebook.com/noconfidenceintheresamay was created, simply to gather a bit of interest and spread the word, ready for another tweetathon. Since setting that up (Around 3wks ago) we have gained over 5000 supporters! Thousands of people have showed a strong interest and many serious views have been debated since. We started to realise that this could develop, and we may just get heard.
So far, the interest we have received has blown me away. Most of these people know nothing about me or anyone else involved but we are all there for the same reason.
I am the wife of a serving police sergeant (@RuralSgt) and have never been involved in any kind of campaign before. On our wedding day, I’m sure I stood the proudest woman alive. Not only is he an amazing and inspiring person who helps to make me everything that I am, but he is totally selfless in his work.
Over time, I have learned to accept the shift work, the long hours and the fact that he is almost always working when we receive an invite to something. Whilst I have wanted to shout out with pride, from the rooftops about his work, I have sadly learned that we have to have more caution than that. There are a large group of people in the world who don’t see what an amazing job it is.
Our children are learning who they can trust or not. It’s so sad seeing the eldest refuse to mention his Dads job for fear of bullying. Still, whatever the hardship is we find a way and get on with life as it is for us.
This past year the police force, along with many other decent groups, have taken a really hard hit due to the government cutbacks. We have been pushed to limits I didn’t think we would see in such a ‘secure’ job. In less than a year, around £400 a month has been cut from our family income and there could be worse to come. The police force are always stretched, I often hear stories of how my husband just doesn’t have enough officers for the jobs that need doing. In a recent posting, he regularly had 2 police officers to cover 200sq miles. Whilst they might grumble a little when they come home, they never kick up a fuss. The police force is made up of good, honest people who don’t tend to complain even when pushed to a limit. Ask any officer, past or present, and they will be able to tell you horrible stories of things they have dealt with. Many people couldn’t even begin to cope with some of the situations that our police are put under. I won’t go into all the details on this blog, but I bet most of you can think of something that fits!
During the recent riots, police were stretched further than ever before. We have all heard the stories, though unlikely that it was through the media! Rural Sgt didn’t manage to get as involved as he would have liked. He would have been there in a flash if he was able. The riots fell during his Annual Leave, meaning he was last to be deployed. However, he did spend a couple of shifts helping out and he didn’t complain at all. To think he was putting himself in danger, to protect a country, where the people in charge wanted to do nothing to help, upset me. The government, especially Theresa May, did nothing to help the situation, despite what they may have said. They sat in their houses, after eventually returning from their holidays and did nothing. They allowed police up and down the country to work all the hours under the sun, many slept on station floors for the few hours between shifts. Many have worked almost every day since the riots started. Rest days have been cancelled and some still don’t know when an end is in sight. Many haven’t spent anything more than a handful of hours with their family throughout the whole time. I heard of some, that went to work in London for a day and were still there working, with no clean clothing, several days later. Again, none of them really complain. They are good people who want to help, but how on earth can our government still be planning to go ahead with police cuts? Our Home Secretary, Theresa May has had many chances to listen to the police force (One the biggest parts of her role as Home Secretary) but has refused to acknowledge anything they have said.
I have not come into this campaign because I want a fight with the government, but because I am so saddened by the way they have behaved. There is far too much to include in this blog. Quite simply, I have lost all confidence, in our government. I certainly won’t be placing my vote their way at the next election. Mostly, I am led to believe that the majority of our police force has lost confidence in our Home Secretary.
We will soon be setting a date for our tweetathon. We hope we can get it trending, but we are not disillusioned. We do not expect Theresa May to resign because of our tweeting! However, we feel passionate about this, and the comments left on the page show us that so many people feel the same way. So we’ll give the tweetathon a go, and then we’ll see where it takes us, you just never know!
Special thanks: Dipster & PolicePensions for their help with the page.
Team Rural 
Enjoyed the blog. Some good points eloquently made.
Thank you!
Well done, beautifully written, with excellent points made x
Ah, thank you. I was so unsure about posting it too! X
You and Sir Ian are doing a fab job. Keep up the great work and the blogging.
Thank you very much!
you have done another very good job here …. got some good points out that need to be heard and in an excellent way. I am really enjoying reading your blogs … keep them coming please xxxx much love xxxx
Really? I’ll keep trying, thanks for your comments & your support x
Well said @mrsruralsgt – one (and I say, just one) of the most upsetting things was the lack of welfare support given to those working the riots. Basic needs such as food and water for our hard working police didn’t appear to come from those who should have been providing it. Basic rights are ignored. Govt and some of the public treat the service like a water tap, sometimes dripping but sometimes turned full on with an expectation that the water will never run out. They are able to have this expectation because of the goodwill of those in the job; the fact that they know which side of the line is the right place to be. Some don’t complain but some do – let’s hope their voices are heard as society and it’s police force deserve better treatment.
Great comment there, and you are so right. Sad but very true!
Very well written Mrs R, some excellent points made, your son learning to “chose” friends carefully, struck a chord with me, having children myself who are 15 and 12, this is something that has always concerned me. My youngest was unfortunately hassled in primary school due to the father of a classmate having a brush with the law, it was so unfair on her and it made me very cross indeed! We discussed it with the children and hope that we have given them the tools to help them deal with such situations should they arise again.