We fought with the law and we all won

Tight-lipped and obviously angry, he shook his head as he walked past the press bench, preparing to reveal the struggle that could be ahead.

The setting was a meeting to discuss crimefighting in Cumbria – but there was a story poised to break that dwarfed the range of issues on the agenda that day.

Both Mr Graham and the then county crime commissioner, Richard Rhodes, addressed those at the meeting on news that had reached them following details from the Government.

It was revealed that the Cumbria force was facing a new round of massive budget cuts, adding to the millions of pounds saved since 2010. The planned cuts could reach £26m.

Later that day, in an interview, Mr Graham issued a stark warning of what could happen.

Speaking passionately, the county’s top officer admitted crime might go up and redundancies were inevitable.

He said the scale of proposed cuts could spell the end of the neighbourhood policing set-up that Cumbria works to – and officers might not be able to attend to offences such as some burglaries straight away.

A warning was also issued that departments such as roads policing, dogs handling and organised crime squads could fall under the spotlight for potential savings.

Mr Graham said the scale of the potential cuts equalled his worst fears financially.

“My worry is that we will retreat to a police service that is more akin to a blue light service where we simply wait for members of the public to ring us and we will go out and pick up the pieces,” he said.

“That has never been what policing in this county has been about.”

There had been warnings for a number of years about the impact of cuts on Cumbria’s police force – but none this stark.

Our campaign against the scale of the plan, named Fight The Cuts, was launched immediately.

Every day throughout the second half of October, we reported on the potential impact, the views of the experts and politicians – and gathered the response from the public.

And after two weeks, the News & Star – accompanied by police representatives and county MPs – delivered a petition backed by 14,471 people to Downing Street.

Martin Plummer, chairman of Cumbria Police Federation – the county’s main police union – was there at the petition hand-over to Number 10.

He says it was a pleasure to stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” on the campaign.

Looking back, he adds: “Sometimes you get to a junction in time when you have to stand up and be counted and turn round to our communities and say: There are issues beyond our control that are going to effect the service we give you.

“We will still give you 100 per cent – but unfortunately, because of the cuts, our hand are tied.

“There was a large voice taken down to Westminster. This was not only the police saying we don’t want the cuts.

“We went to London and said: Listen to the public of Cumbria. Listen to the communities we serve. They are backing us.”

Over the course of the campaign both the News & Star and the police spelled out the potential implications of savage cuts.

A union warned cuts on the scale proposed would put the lives of both officers and the public at risk.

A bereaved family spoke of the expert help they had received from police.

The campaign touched on the threat of a major alert at Sellafield, while the owner of a chain of shops targeted by robbers praised the professionalism of police who caught the crooks.

Alerts were issued over the potential impact on the future of the force’s dogs section and armed policing. The campaign received cross-party backing from Cumbria’s MPs.

Serious crime detectives warned how resources could be diverted away from hunting some of the county’s worst criminals.

And those who chase the paedophiles targeting youngsters stressed their concern at the effect of cuts on their investigations.

Police even warned that officer attendance at Remembrance parades in Cumbria could be under threat if massive planned cuts went ahead.

Mr Graham later thanked all those who spoke in support of his force as our petition was taken to Downing Street.

He said the public had “sat up and listened”.

“The petition shows beyond any doubt the people of Cumbria are not going to sit back and have their police service degraded,” he added.

The Government later shelved controversial changes to the formula it uses for some of the police funding after admitting it got its sums wrong.

The force was also spared other cuts in the subsequent budget from Chancellor George Osborne.

Politicians and campaigners virtually all agreed that the Fight the Cuts Campaign had a major impact.

Copeland MP Jamie Reed was also among those handing over the petition.

He said: “Policing in Cumbria is an essential service on which we all depend to keep our communities safe.

“In the Autumn of 2015, Cumbria Constabulary faced cuts to their budgets from Government to the tune of £26m.

“Local people, including the News & Star, campaigned tirelessly to oppose the dangerous cut and we were successful in forcing the Government to postpone the decision.

“The Government must now provide Cumbria Constabulary with the resources it needs to provide our communities with the security that we rightly deserve.”

Carlisle MP John Stevenson paid tribute to the News & Star campaign at the time.

He said: “I was very aware of the great impact that the size of the cuts would have had on our county because of its rurality and the issues of policing such a large geographical area with a sparse population.

“I also congratulate the News & Star on its campaign, which I think helped strengthen my argument with Government that the cuts would be detrimental.”

Mr Plummer, who stood at the doors of 10 Downing Street with a box containing the views of the public, added: “It was a pleasure to be able to stand there knowing we had the public of Cumbria behind us.”

Our Fight The Cuts campaign, run across our sister titles in CN Group – The Cumberland News, Times & Star, Whitehaven News and North West Evening Mail – has been shortlisted for a national award as part of Local Newspaper Week.

The winner will be announced at the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards on Friday.

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Vote for the Fight the Cuts campaign here  http://www.localnewspaperweek.co.uk/Making-a-Difference/87524

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Our #SpiritofCumbria campaign has also been nominated for the Making A Difference award. You can vote for that here  www.localnewspaperweek.co.uk/Making-a-Difference/87537