11/09/2026
From an RNLI supporter in Blackpool:
Given the national comments with the RNLI, which were reinforced by our local pages, we wanted to share a message sent to us privately by a supporter, but is happy for it to be published on the page. We know we have a lot of support, but this was special. Thank you.
To the incredible people of the RNLI.
I don't know if you'll ever see this, but I hope somehow these words find their way to you.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry that people who spend their time saving lives are being made targets of hatred simply because of who some of those lives belong to.
I'm sorry that the word lifesaver is being twisted into an insult.
And I'm sorry that, while you're out there facing some of the most frightening conditions imaginable, there are people sitting comfortably on dry land calling you a “taxi service”.
Because they seem to have forgotten something incredibly important.
You don't rescue passports.
You don't rescue religions.
You don't rescue nationalities.
You rescue human beings.
When that call comes in, you don't get to choose who is worth saving.
You don't ask whether someone deserves your help.
You don't stop to decide whether they're British enough, wealthy enough, deserving enough, or whether you agree with the choices that brought them into danger.
You go.
You put yourselves in danger because somebody else is in danger.
And somewhere, every single time you launch that lifeboat, there is quite possibly a mother praying for her child, a husband waiting for his wife, a parent desperately hoping their son or daughter comes home.
And then there is you.
Coming through the darkness.
Bringing somebody back.
Giving a family the chance to hear a knock at the door that they thought they might never hear again.
I think sometimes we forget just how extraordinary that is.
So, from the bottom of my heart:
Thank you.
Thank you to every volunteer who gives up evenings, weekends, birthdays, Christmases and precious time with their own families.
Thank you to the people who maintain the boats, train the crews, answer the calls, raise the funds and keep the lifeboat station going.
Thank you to the people who run towards danger when most of us would be desperately trying to get away from it.
And please remember this when the hateful voices get loud:
They do not speak for all of us.
There are so many of us who see what you do.
There are so many of us who are proud of you.
There are so many of us who would want you coming for our loved ones if they were the ones in trouble.
And I cannot imagine anyone looking into the eyes of a rescued person — cold, frightened, exhausted and alive — and honestly believing that saving them was something to be ashamed of.
It isn't.
It is one of the most beautiful things a human being can do for another.
So, RNLI, please keep going.
Keep launching.
Keep saving.
Keep being the people who turn up when somebody's darkest moment becomes a desperate cry for help.
Because while some people are busy trying to make compassion something shameful,
you are out there proving that a human life is worth saving.
And for that, you have my deepest respect, my gratitude, and my unwavering support.
Thank you for bringing people home. ❤️
🌊🚤 RNLI — saving lives at sea. ❤️
