AFTER spending most of his evenings and weekends since August speaking to firefighters across Britain, Steve Wright is marking his first full week as the Fire Brigades Union’s (FBU) new general secretary.

Reflecting on more than 85 fire station visits, all conducted outside his working hours as executive council member for the Southern region and FBU national vice-president, the Oxfordshire firefighter said: “It’s been an absolute privilege to do.

“It was useful to have those conversations and the same issues were cutting through.

“Fundamental – and I witnessed it – is the lack of investment in the fire and rescue service for so many years.

“Fourteen years of Tory rule has not only cut our wages but the number of firefighters who sit on engines and the training. It’s had a real impact on firefighters’ lives.”

FBU figures say more than 12,000 firefighter jobs have been cut and central funding slashed by 30 per cent since 2010.

The increasing numbers of wildfire and flooding incidents was also brought up. Steve said that, while not necessarily using the language of “climate emergency,” “firefighters are acutely aware of the front-line risks climate change is putting on them.”

Pay was also brought up and though Mr Wright declined to say whether Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s 2.8 per cent limit on public-sector pay rises would be too little for achieving the investment FBU members want, he warned: “This will need money and I think until there’s a commitment around that I will be doing everything I can to make sure Labour understands this.”

He said he is due to meet the fire minister Diana Johnson today and wanted to discuss the issue with the FBU’s executive committee before setting out his stall.

Transparency also came up, Mr Wright said, adding: “I want to make sure that I’m a GS that’s a visible, approachable and accountable to the membership as I can be.”

The dad-of-two, who joined Labour during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, said that while disaffiliating from the party had not been a major discussion point for members, it will be discussed at FBU’s next annual conference.

He added: “I think we need to hold their feet to the fire and be a critical friend of theirs – and we will disagree.”