Firefighters in Greater Manchester have been warned about their support for Reform UK by brigade bosses operating under Mayor Andy Burnham, with staff also urged to inform on Reform-backing colleagues. The Free Speech Union has condemned the intervention as a “chilling” attack on free expression, while one Reform councillor said he fears for his promotion prospects. The Mail has the story:
Firefighters who support Reform UK have been cautioned over their views by bosses under the command of Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham.
Senior figures at Manchester’s Fire and Rescue Service said they have had words with employees who backed the party, saying it was a cause for “concern”.
And in an Orwellian move described as a “chilling” attack on free speech, staff were also urged to inform on any Reform-supporting colleagues. Bosses also said they were seeking legal advice on what to do about firefighters who decided to stand on a Reform ticket in last month’s local elections.
As the city’s mayor, Labour leadership hopeful Mr Burnham is also Manchester fire commissioner, responsible for governing the service.
And polling suggests that Reform is the only party that can stop him winning this month’s Makerfield by-election, which would be a springboard for him toppling Sir Keir Starmer.
Unlike police officers, there is no legal bar on firefighters taking part in national or local politics. Nonetheless, those who stood for Reform in May’s elections were “spoken to” by brigade bosses.
The intervention was revealed in an email sent to members of the fire service by Carl Petch and Humaira Ahmed, the joint heads of the service’s “race and faith staff network”.
Free Speech Union founder Toby Young said the email “will create a chilling effect on the free speech of employees who support Reform”, while one firefighter who won his council seat for Reform said he now feared for his promotion prospects if party supporters were being singled out.
In the email, sent in April and seen by the Mail on Sunday, Mr Petch and Ms Ahmed said they were “reaching out… [to] provide some clarity and reassurance regarding some recent activity we’ve seen within the organisation”. They wrote: “We are aware that some staff members have chosen to represent Reform UK in their local areas. We know this may cause concern within our network and wider.
“The individuals involved have been spoken to, to make it clear that as members of GMFRS (Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service) our core values and professional behaviours must be displayed at all times.
“The service is currently seeking formal legal guidance… to ensure we are protected from all perspectives and that our inclusive culture remains safe. Our priority is and always will be ensuring that every member of this network feels supported, respected and safe at work.”
The email concluded by effectively inviting employees to inform on their colleagues, saying: “If you have any personal concerns, or feel impacted by this, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly.”
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: The Mail on Sunday has published a good editorial linked to this story, decrying the “soft totalitarianism which tends to use half-spoken threats to job security as its main weapon. Keep quiet, follow political correctness and keep your job.” Worth reading in full.
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Are we sure that it was ‘management’ that issued this dictat and not the FBU…?
“Our priority is and always will be ensuring that every member of this network feels supported, respected and safe at work.”
Unless, of course, they are Reform supporters. F’idiots!
Two people in made-up jobs created specifically for them because they are ‘minorities’ are worried about losing their power. We’ll hear it growing in strength from every facet of the public service sector as they fight to retain their hold over the indigenous staff and beyond.
Two decades ago I (re)joined UKIP and I stood for them as a paper candidate several times in local elections. As a Civil Servant (fairly low grade) I still had to get permission and I was waiting for “repercussions” if it became generally known which Party I was standing for.
To be fair, there weren’t any obvious ones. I was generally seen as a bit of a maverick and at times “a nuisance” since I didn’t meekly cheer every nonsense proposal made by my (considerably) seniors.
I took a planned early retirement shortly after the Brexit Referendum. I strongly suspect that if I’d stayed there, tolerance of my opinions would have been significantly reduced. There has been pressure to conform to left wing opinions for a very long time.
So you can campaign/support the rest, just not Reform, thats a dictatorship, lets get this crap out of power.
🗳 Vote Reform UK as if your life depends on it because it does.
This must be grounds for litigation. Heads should roll. The by-election should be re-run.
The Fire Brigade should be required to register with Electoral Commission.
The Fire Service is one happy family – which is why it’s engaging in Family Voting, I suppose.
My thought exactly. This is the exact equivalent of illegal family, coercive, voting.
The threat to promotion posed by being thought to support the “wromg” political party, social policy or activist cause du jour has precedent in academia. As long ago as 2005 university lecturers who were sxepical of the Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warmibg hypothesis found themselves under threat of dismissal.
Not a problem. After eighteen months in No.10, Mr Burnham will be just as unpopular with those who enthusiastically voted for him as Starmer. By that time it will be close to the general election and Labour will have nowhere to go.
As long as 18 months? I would say less than 12 months and don’t forget there is another round of local elections in May 2027 covering all of Scotland, Wales and N Ireland, as well as parts of England and some Mayors that will be an opinion poll on the vastly overrated Burnham.
Why is the same attitude not applied to those who are clearly Labour supporters?
Does this mean they would refuse to attend a house fire where support for Reform was either displayed or ‘known’?
Mirroring Far Left Dumocrat states from refusing aid to houses with MAGA signs displayed.
Undue Influence. Disgraceful and illegal.
Well, they have been duly displayed and we now seem to know more about them. Stalinist, political repression seems to be one of them.
I for one am grateful for GMFRS’s transparency.
The worst thing is that they are so deeply imbued and open with their ideology that they clearly don’t see what’s wrong with it.
Your “our core values and professional behaviours must be displayed at all times” reminded me of:
The Declaration: Officers promise to “well and truly serve the King,” act with “fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality,” and uphold human rights.
The Office of Constable: The oath focuses entirely on loyalty to the Crown and the impartial execution of their duties.
Burnham needs to recruit firestarters instead. Books, that sort of thing.
Fahrenheit 451 was a prophecy not a warning.
Truly shocking, like something straight out of the Bolshevik & Maoist Revolutions.
One public comment:
—” This is horrifying. It smacks of all the extreme regimes in history. Can a British man not vote for whom he wants? Can he not think for himself what he believes is best for his country?
Labour reveal themselves more and more.
Somebody should be arrested for this.
They were quick enough to slap the cuffs on young Henry.”
“Our priority is and always will be ensuring that every member of this network feels supported, respected and safe at work.”
Unless you support Reform 🤦🏾♂️
These useful idiot progressive activists don’t even recognise their blatant hypocrisy.
Oops! Just made an almost identical post. I should have read further.
And the blatant hypocrisy proves they are Far Left since that is an essential part of their ideology.
This is terrifying. Are people are being asked to report colleagues if they live in Makerfield and don’t vote for the king of the north? How do the fire unions measure their core values? As far as I can tell, most of today’s trade unions don’t have any connection to core British values. Withdrawing life saving workers to further political campaigns, withdrawing teachers at critical time in exams, supporting men with mental health issues to allow them access to women’s private spaces, planning how to defy democratic choice. None of these are representative of what I would regard as traditional values of my country.
Censorship is the marxo-fascist madleft’s reflex. It’s a sign they’re losing the argument.
Not terrifying, laughable.
The intent is terrifying, I’ll grant you, but these people are complete clowns and arsewipes.
Coulrophobia is the abnormal fear of clowns. Perhaps they are on to something.
“… our inclusive culture remains safe.”
That would be by excluding any who support Reform UK.
Do these folk have any self-awareness and introspection? (Rhetorical).
They mean their inclusive culture.
To be seen to be a Reform or Restore supporter or even right leaning in any public institution in even a minor management role is career suicide. You will be ostracised and they will look for any minor infraction for an excuse to sack you. This crap has been roughly going on since the year 2000 and pressure building year on year since then. I, like many, left around 5 years ago. I couldn’t stand it anymore.
For at least two centuries censorship has been central to the totalitarian madleft’s worldview. What is new in our time is the madleft’s ardent hatred for white people. That hatred is now being focused on our attempts to defend ourselves as a people, and to prevent our coming genocide.
This
Orwellian
Crap
Has
To
Stop
Such a braindead initiative is certain to backfire.