Every so often I find myself agreeing with a Labour spokesperson. Okay, so now I feel all grubby, but she has a point.
The government has made “a shambles” of the upcoming election for police and crime commissioners, the shadow home secretary says.
Elections will be held in each police force area in England and Wales outside London on 15 November.
But with days to go, Yvette Cooper said the government had failed to promote it: “I am really worried about what turnout is going to be as a result.”
I cannot say that I am a betting man, but if I was to put a fiver on it, I’d say dismally low. I’ve heard nothing officially – although I have sought out the details of the candidates in our area and there are four. Three are from the three main parties, so would never get a vote from me. That leaves one independent. But you’d never know it unless you went looking.
Leaflets from the Electoral Commission were sent to 21 million households last month, explaining what the police and crime commissioners will do.
Uh huh, so where are they, then? Given that the government claims to have been promoting this for two years, they have taken the term “low key” and made it into an art form.
So, yeah, Cooper is probably right on this one. Am I going to vote? Don’t know. I cannot say that I feel particularly motivated. But if I do, then it will be the independent. Indeed, that will be my policy every time I vote from now on.
As with all voting, I reckon there should be a minimum turnout requirement before the vote is confirmed.
Far too sensible.
There shouldn’t even be a vote. By voting you give legitimacy to and are consenting to being policed by a private company. I will spoil my vote by withdrawing their implied right to police us. public servants is what they need to be returned to not privately run corporate bodies who answer to shareholders not the public they claim to have the right to police… Not in my name buddie
I for one really cannot be bothered with this crap. The one candidate in my area (Bournemouth) who has surfaced in the press turned out to be a crusty Daily Mail nazi, whose main policy seems to be to close most of the pubs and clubs in the town.
I don’t think he knows that is actually the Council’s job, but hey, like I said – Daily Mail reader.
It’s almost enough to make you wish for John Prescott…
Leaflet received, identified and burnt. If only we could do the same with the people who control the politicians!
There are 3 candidates in my area: lab, con & independant. None have sent me any blurb. Lab & Con are really of no interest to me as their political backgrounds rather knock out my minimum requirements of ability, integrity etc but in the cause of fairness I have spent an hour on the net checking all 3 out. The conservative has exaggerated his experience and business background to the point of lying and the labour chaps’ real backgound is pure “Dave Spart”. The Indy fellow, an ex policeman with a verifiable track record in sunbsequent service looks on the surface a better bet though he is a little old at 74. Short Of really checking him out in depth………he seems the least bad……….and that is the point!
At the last GE. though fully recognising the imperative of getting shot of Brown I could not bring myself to vote tory as the 16th rate being an improvement on 18th rate……so I voted UKIP…..not really a wasted vote as one has to start somewhere.
My current feeling is that I will abstain re PCC or, possibly, spoil the paper with “none of the above”. I would very much like the facilty to vote AGAINST the clearly useless!
I agree with Furor above on minimum votes.
There’s five candidates in my area, three main party monkeys, an independent and UKIP. The three unwise monkeys are off my list to begin with, the independent doesn’t appear to have done anything except work for fake charities and is even more vague and right on than the apes. The UKIP bloke is an ex copper and therefore a little suspect as he may be too close to the producer interests but he is the only one who actually mentions costs and doesn’t talk in abstractions, I shall probably vote for him.
Well in my area we have a Lab, a Con and an independent. The Lab is promising to keep politics out of policing; the Con is going to lock everyone up and get this, on close inspection the Independent turns out to be the failed candidate for the Con nomination.
I have taken the trouble to write on my postal vote ‘None of the beneath (contempt)’. It’s the least I can do.
I actually think that elected police commisioners are a good idea. If the police were more accountable they might not go around harassing the law abiding due to them being easy targets.
Example.
I ride a 1996 Triumph Daytona 900. I keep it impeccably maintained. I was flagged down by the bobbies who were detaining motorists who had done nothing wrong, so that they could inspect their vehicles for imaginary faults. They imagined that my chain was too slack. I pointed out that my chain was adjusted exactly as the owner’s manual instructed. Since I lived only two miles away, I offered to provide said owner’s manual for their education. As it was, they accepted that I was telling the truth and allowed me to go on my way.
Were this incident to occur in the future, I will be able to harrass the current comissioner, and let him know that I expect the police to harrass the non law abiding and leave me, and my correctly adjusted chain, alone. Otherwise I will vote for someone else.
Yes, this election has been poorly promoted, but surely this is to the advantage of those of us who take the time to find out about it. We have John Prescott, he likes speed cameras and is a witless oaf.
Were this incident to occur in the future, I will be able to harrass the current comissioner, and let him know that I expect the police to harrass the non law abiding and leave me, and my correctly adjusted chain, alone. Otherwise I will vote for someone else
Dream on. Every cadidate for commissioner says the same things. Zero tolerance this, zero tolerance that and 100% support for the police. I doubt a police commissioner would object if the local armed response units started taking pot shots at grannies as they shambled down the high street. “These highly trained and dedicated officers have to find a way of letting off steam”.
Like most of you, the big three parties are non-starters for me. Michael Mates has surfaced again as the tory (Heseltine, Mates, what other eighties rejects will surface next?). The Lib Dem is doing the XYZ can’t win here nonsense, so fuck off. The Labour person looks like a school dinner lady to me and she has political form for years, so none of the above. The UKIP bloke is an ex-special constable (beyond the pale) and so we have some independent who is so wooly you could knit a jumper and finally some guy from the justice and anti-corruption party.
He seems to have actually done something in the real world and reckons he won’t take a salary, so if I do vote, probably him.
All their manifestos are more or less inter-changeable. They all like more bobbies on the beat and zero tolerance, all will put the victim first and be tough on crime, none of ’em like crime or anti-social behaviour, blah, blah. The dinner lady likes all these things unless the evil con-tory government votes for ’em in which case she maybe against ’em. Or something, I didn’t pay close attention.
XX He seems to have actually done something in the real world and reckons he won’t take a salary,XX
Oy aye. As I understand it, the position is “full time”? So how is he going to survive with no money? Or has he fiddled a couple of million under the matress from “other sources”?
I wrote to all of the candidates standing for PCC in Kent asking how they would use the role to ensure police accountability and that officers who break the law are brought promptly to account. Only one, the Tory, could be bothered to respond. If the candidates don’t give a damn about this election, why should the rest of us?