AbstractThis article provides an analysis of developments in the determination of police pay since 1919. It reveals the contested nature of public sector pay setting where the government of the day pursues short‐term economic goals rather than taking a long‐term approach to staffing issues in essential public services. In the case of the police, the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has traditionally used both industrial and political methods to put pressure on key government decision makers. Developments reveal increasingly fraught relations between the police and the government, with the 2008 pay dispute in particular marking a new low point. Once it became clear after the 2010 general election that the government would ignore industrial pressure, then the Police Federation of England and Wales felt driven to increase the activities of its political arm. This ultimately backfired with the Plebgate scandal leaving them naked in the negotiating chamber.