Plans to radically reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales have drawn criticism from English mayors, who say the proposals threaten local policing and undermine Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda. Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said on Friday that policing was ‘heading for failure’ without change and proposed cutting the 43 forces to eight to 10 regional forces. The proposals have also faced opposition from mayors who favour forces aligned with mayoral boundaries.
In his speech in Manchester, Rowley warned that without urgent reform police would be unable to cope with organised crime, fraud networks and cyber-criminals operating across borders. He proposed a three-tier model of local neighbourhood teams, regional forces sharing specialist resources and a new national police service for the most serious crimes.
The government has already begun a review of policing boundaries. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood asked former Met commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe to examine options; his unpublished report is understood to contain a range of options for the number of larger forces, from nine to 18, down from the current 43.
Several mayors criticised the proposals, with some questioning the Met’s own record. Steve Rotheram called the plan ‘the wolf of centralisation dressed up in sheep’s clothing’ and said the idea of swallowing local forces into enormous regional super-forces ran counter to the devolution agenda. Bev Craig said she would urge the government not to implement the ‘most radical’ plans, saying Greater Manchester had shown what can happen when local accountability at a geographic level that makes sense works.
David Skaith, mayor of York and North Yorkshire, described the proposals as a ‘real threat’ and said he would ‘not be lectured’ by Rowley. Kim McGuinness, mayor of north-east England, said: ‘What we definitely do not need is the head of London’s very troubled police force coming north and telling us how policing should work.’
Rowley, in his speech, said reforms would strengthen local policing, not weaken it. ‘We cannot ask local officers to confront international criminal networks without the strength of a wider service behind them,’ he said. Stephen Watson, Greater Manchester chief constable, backed the case for change, listing 43 headquarters, 43 chiefs, 43 deputies and 43 different IT systems in the 43-force model, and saying that ‘if any commercial entity were to be set up in the style of British policing, they would not remain solvent for very long’.
Some rural police and crime commissioners have described the plans as political manoeuvring by larger forces. Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said funding diverted from frontline services in Dorset to establish new national structures could leave communities receiving less. Kent police and crime commissioner Matthew Scott said Rowley believed local policing services should be cut back and made more remote.
Rowley also highlighted financial pressures, noting that police spending has fallen from 0.9% of GDP to 0.7% since 2010. A Home Office spokesperson said the current model is ‘no longer fit for purpose’.
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Analysis
Why This Matters
The outcome of this review will reshape how policing is delivered across England and Wales, affecting local accountability, response times and resources for neighbourhood policing.
The stand-off between police chiefs, who argue the current model is broken, and mayors, who fear loss of local control, will test the Labour government’s commitment to its own devolution agenda.
The need to free up hundreds of millions of pounds through back-office savings is a key driver, but any disruption to front-line services could undermine public confidence.
Background
Sir Mark Rowley’s call follows years of declining police performance and funding. In January 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a white paper proposing a National Police Service and a radical reduction in the number of forces. Former Met commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe was asked to review force boundaries. The political landscape shifted in July when former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham became prime minister. Burnham, a champion of devolution, has not publicly backed the super-force plans, leaving police chiefs uncertain ahead of the review’s publication.
Key Perspectives
Mark Rowley: The current 43-force model is ‘heading for failure’ and cannot keep up with cross-border crime; merging forces could free up thousands of officers for front-line duties.
English mayors (Rotheram, Craig, Skaith, McGuinness): Super-forces weaken local accountability; the Met has no track record to lecture northern forces; reforms should align police boundaries with mayoral regions.
Stephen Watson (Greater Manchester chief constable): The case for change is ‘essential and unanswerable’; the 43-force structure creates waste and inefficiency.
Association of Police and Crime Commissioners: A National Police Service is needed, but merging into nine mega-forces is not the answer.
Dorset PCC David Sidwick and Kent PCC Matthew Scott: Mergers could divert funding from local policing; the public has not been consulted.
What to Watch
Publication of Lord Hogan-Howe’s review: will it recommend a middle ground of 15–18 forces, or side with those calling for eight to ten?
Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first public statement on the plans: he may favour aligning police boundaries with mayoral regions rather than creating super-forces.
The Treasury’s willingness to fund the transition: the reforms are partly designed to save money, but realising savings may require upfront investment.
12 claims in this story checked against 2 sources: 12 supported.
Show each claim
SupportedRowley’s police reform plan has drawn criticism from English mayors.UK news | The Guardian: “‘Super-force’ plans a real threat to local policing, English mayors say.”
SupportedMayors have called the plan a threat to local policing.UK news | The Guardian: “Plans to slash the number of police forces in England and Wales represent a “real threat” to local policing”
SupportedMayors say the proposals undermine Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda.UK news | The Guardian: “seriously undermine Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda, leading mayors have said.”
SupportedRowley proposed cutting England and Wales’s 43 forces to eight to 10 regional forces.UK news | The Guardian: “Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner and Britain’s top officer, called on Friday for the 43 forces of England and Wales to be cut to “eight to 10” super forces.”
SupportedSome mayors favour police forces aligned with mayoral boundaries.UK news | The Guardian: “Many of England’s mayors believe police forces should align with mayoral boundaries to allow them greater oversight”
SupportedRowley proposed a three-tier model of local teams, regional forces and a national police service.BBC News: “The changes would replace the 43-force structure with three tiers: local teams dealing with neighbourhood issues, regional forces sharing specialist resources and a National Police Service tackling the most serious crimes.”
SupportedThe unpublished Hogan-Howe review is understood to consider between nine and 18 larger forces, down from 43.UK news | The Guardian: “The review, which has not yet been published, is understood to contain a range of how many larger forces there should be under the new model, from nine to 18, down from the current 43.”
SupportedRotheram called the proposals “the wolf of centralisation dressed up in sheep’s clothing”.UK news | The Guardian: “Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool city region and a close friend of the prime minister, called the proposals “the wolf of centralisation dressed up in sheep’s clothing””
SupportedBev Craig said she would urge the government not to implement the most radical plans.UK news | The Guardian: “Bev Craig, the Greater Manchester mayor, said on Friday she would urge the government not to implement the most radical of Rowley’s plans.”
SupportedKim McGuinness said London’s police chief should not come north telling local areas how policing should work.UK news | The Guardian: ““What we definitely do not need is the head of London’s very troubled police force coming north and telling us how policing should work.””
SupportedRowley said local officers need the strength of a wider service to confront international criminal networks.UK news | The Guardian: ““We cannot ask local officers to confront international criminal networks without the strength of a wider service behind them,” he said.”
SupportedPolice spending has fallen from 0.9% to 0.7% of GDP since 2010.BBC News: “Sir Mark has also highlighted the financial pressures facing policing, saying that spending on policing had fallen from about 0.9% of GDP to 0.7% since 2010”
Correction
An earlier version of this story said the mayors’ criticism came a day after Rowley’s speech. Both occurred on Friday.