As you know the Prime Minister has announced a 'snap' general election on the 8th June – personally I don't believe there was anything 'snap' about her decision and I for one was not in the least surprised by her announcement, but then that could just be me being a tad cynical. Word is that the main political parties could take up to three weeks to prepare their electoral manifestos and we cannot be twiddling our thumbs for that length of time with a general election being just 6 weeks away. We must dust down our keyboards or grab pen and paper and stock up on stamps - it's time for us to be proactive once again. I can hear the groans from here.......deja vu anyone? So what exactly does this development mean for our campaign I hear you cry and as we don't have any resident political pundits then I'm afraid you are stuck with me and my musings. Currently we enjoy cross party support and MPs from opposing parties were actually talking favourably to each other about our campaign. The Conservative party is not just seeking to consolidate their win of 2015 but to increase their majority within the House of Commons. Realistically it is likely that a number of MPs that were supportive of our campaign will be replaced by MPs that will feel compelled to toe the Conservative party line: “…..the hon. Lady also touched on the difference between this and changes to armed forces widows’ pensions. The Government believe that there is difference, and that there are particular factors that apply to the armed forces. Not only do the families of armed forces personnel have to cope with long and uncertain separations while their spouse or civil partner has deployed on operations directly, the mobile nature of service life often prevents those families from earning their own occupational pension. We recognise that that puts them in a difficult position when trying to provide for their own financial future. The same combination of risk to life and disruption to family life cannot be said to apply to other public service workforces. The Government do not believe that it would be justifiable to make the same changes for all survivors of police officers. Nevertheless, we believe it is right to recognise the risks faced by police officers every day as part of their job. I believe that, when police officers, and also firefighters, die on duty, their surviving spouses and civil partners should not face a decision between a new relationship and retaining their entitlement to their survivor benefits. I appreciate the hon. Lady’s reference to other parts of the United Kingdom. However, policing in Scotland, for example, is a devolved matter. Those other Administrations are entitled to make their own decisions, but that does not, in itself, create a precedent that will necessarily be followed in the whole of the United Kingdom. We have made clear our commitment to ensure that public service pensions are affordable, sustainable and fair....there is no current plan for us to change the scheme beyond the changes made only last year. However, we always keep these things under review.....I will continue to keep this under review, as the Treasury does on all these matters, to ensure that we have a scheme that is not only fair for the taxpayer but ultimately, as he (MP Richard Graham) rightly says, fair to the families of those people who go out every day and put themselves at risk. We will continue to do that.” Brandon Lewis The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service during Adjournment Debate 15th March 2017. The minister has been true to his word and reviewed the 'cost' of granting lifelong pensions for all police widows – it would appear that the original estimate was wildly inaccurate and it has been revised upwards - the PFEW are currently looking into the matter. Moving the goal posts springs to mind; however this does indicate that we have given Mr Lewis food for thought by working hard to keep our campaign on the agenda. Never doubt that your personal story matters – we have received great feedback from successive ministers with regard to our continuing positive engagement with the Home Office and the nature, tone and empathy of our campaign. In the run up to the election please contact your local candidates from all parties – where possible request an appointment to meet with them face-to-face. Ask them what they will do to challenge the current Government position on police widows' pensions should they be elected or re-elected. Writing to the minister will be an easy thing for them to do and they will receive the same copy and paste creation that has been coming out of the Home Office since January 2016. Make it clear that in order to secure your vote - promising to write a letter to the appropriate minister will not be enough – what are they prepared to do to support us beyond writing that initial letter? I have produced a briefing document that addresses the arguments against granting lifelong pensions for all police widows, email me for a copy CathrynHall@outlook.com and use it to help you when writing letters or emails and share it with you electoral candidates. Please do not dwell on the widows of officers killed on duty – the tragic events that took place in Westminster on Wednesday 22nd March should still be firmly at the forefront of everyone's minds. If you are granted a face-to-face meeting with your candidate you will have a lot of ground to cover in a short space of time, especially as they may be hearing about the campaign for the first time. We can be rightly proud of our campaign achievements so far, and I know that you are as fiercely proud of our officers lost in the line of duty as I am, but we have an uphill fight to progress our campaign; therefore we must use our time wisely. Go get 'em ladies and gents. Best wishes, Cathryn