Vikki Slade MP's statement on the RNLI
A statement from Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Vikki Slade on the RNLI:
“There are few organisations with such close ties to Dorset as the RNLI. With its headquarters in Poole, lifeboat stations around our coast and beach lifeguards on our busiest beaches, it is hard to find someone who does not have a connection to the charity one way or another. ”
“My family have always loved the water, but we have also always respected its power.”
“I remember my mum talking about being pulled from a swimming pool as a child. During a family holiday to the Isle of Wight, I was rescued myself after getting into difficulty when the tide turned. More recently, the RNLI rescued a member of my family after they got into trouble on a sailing boat just outside Poole Harbour.”
“I also remember the extraordinary bravery of RNLI lifeguards on Bournemouth beach when they ran into danger to rescue children who had been dragged underwater by the pier.”
“That is why I was so distressed to see the attacks directed at the charity, and at individual crew members, following rescues in the Channel last week.”
“For more than 200 years, the RNLI has stayed true to a simple mission: saving lives at sea. It does not ask why someone is in trouble, where they come from or whether rescuing them will be politically popular. Its crews simply respond when people are in danger.”
“I made this point in 2025 when protests were held outside the Poole training college. RNLI volunteers are no different from other emergency workers. We would not expect paramedics to ignore someone collapsed in the street, nor would we expect firefighters to ask questions before entering a burning building. To do so would undermine the very foundations of a civilised society.”
“Of course, people are concerned about immigration. Many are worried about border security, the pressure on public services and the criminal gangs who profit from dangerous Channel crossings. Those concerns are real and politicians should not dismiss them.”
“It is right to ask what more can be done to stop small boats making these dangerous journeys. Nobody wants to see vulnerable people risking their lives at sea, nor rescue workers put in danger responding to them. The answer, however, is to tackle the criminal gangs and create a system that is fair, robust and effective, not to attack the people who save lives when things go wrong.”
“The RNLI should never be the target. Whilst launches in response to Channel crossings attract significant attention, they represent only a tiny proportion of the charity's work. Day in, day out, volunteers and lifeguards protect local people and visitors around our coastline, often at great personal risk.”
“Misinformation spread online and hostility towards people acting out of simple humanity chips away at the values that hold our society together. We may disagree about immigration policy, asylum reform or border controls, but surely we can agree on this: those who dedicate their lives to saving others deserve our gratitude, not our abuse.”
"We all have our own interpretation of what it means to be British, shaped by our backgrounds and experiences. But I know one thing: attacking those who would pluck us from a stormy sea is just not British."
END.