Police and crime commissioner elections November 15th

[T_i_B]

In just under a month from now we will be having elections for Police & Crime Commissioners (PCC's). Rhe below is a description of what this will involve

http://www.choosemypcc.org.uk/

A police and crime commissioner (PCC) is independent and will be elected to oversee how crime will be tackled in your police force area. Their aim will be to cut crime and to ensure your police force is effective. They will bring more of a public voice to policing and they will do this by:

•regularly engaging and meeting with the public to help set police and crime plans;
•ensuring the police force budget is spent where it matters most; and
•appointing the chief constable, and (if necessary) dismissing them if they have not performed well.

Please feel free to let us know who's standing in your area, and how the election is progressing.

Below is a very worrying article about what's going on in Lincolnshire

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9623068/The-secret-US-lobbyists-behind-Police-and-Crime-Commissioner-election.html

Mervyn Barrett has flooded Lincolnshire with expensive leaflets, free DVDs and full-page newspaper adverts in his bid to be elected as its policing supremo next month.

Unusually for a rural local election, he has employed professional campaign staff, commissioned weekly opinion polls, opened “field offices” and is driven in a chauffeured Mercedes. He has poured tens of thousands of pounds into the elections, far more than any other candidate anywhere else in Britain.

Mr Barrett describes himself as an “independent”, opposed to “party politics” in policing. He has refused to disclose who is funding him, despite widespread local suspicions generated by the intensity and professionalism of his campaign.

However, it can now be revealed that it has been run by a team from a US-based neo-conservative think tank, the Fund for the New American Century, funded in part by a variety of corporate donors with an interest in public-sector privatisation.

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Not too much going on with mine (Hampshire)

The Conservatives have put forward Michael Mates, who was a Hampshire MP. Some think his friendship with the convicted Asil Nadir isn't ideal. There's a retired Conservative councillor who was chairman of the police authority standing against him as an independent; and Labour has put forward another ex-chair of the police authority.

I think I'll vote, mainly to try to keep Mates out - I'm not keen on him, and since the county council is firmly Tory, I fear he stands a good chance of getting in.

I've just checked, and found out that rather than an Alternative Vote system, where you get to give as many 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. choices (which is what I thought we were getting), it's Supplementary Vote - where you get just a 2nd choice, and the top 2 get everyone else's votes redistributed (like the mayoral elections - London, at least). I'm pissed off at that - it means, since my main purpose is to stop Mates, I'm going to have to be very careful on how to do a tactical vote - and there won't be any polls to tell me what the chances of the other candidates are (and there will be no informative local news coverage, I can pretty much guarantee - apart from possibly the Sunday morning local politics programme on BBC1).

[T_i_B]

2. Here's who's standing in Derbyshire

I don't have the foggiest idea about any of these people. Hopefully we do see some campaigning from them between now & polling day.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-19506238

ALAN CHARLES - Labour

DAVID GALE - UK Independence Party

ROD HUTTON - Independent

ROB LANE - Independent

SIMON SPENCER - Conservative

[LeftishBrit]

3. I'm in Thames Valley...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19503420

Independent candidates Patience Tayo Awe and Geoff Howard; LibDem John Howson (reasonable bloke IMO, but I'm off the LibDems right now for obvious reasons); Anthony Stansfeld (Tory); Barry Cooper (UKIP and worthless) and Tim Starkey (Labour). Starkey was LibDem parliamentary candidate for the Chesham and Amersham constituency in 2010, but switched parties over 'broken promises' and the cuts.

I don't really believe in elected police authorities, but I've never not-voted in my life, so probably I'll vote. Probably for Starkey, though I don't know much as yet about the Independent candidates.

[T_i_B]

4. I'm not in favour of elected PCC's either really

Last edited Tue Oct 30, 2012, 08:17 AM - Edit history (1)

However, I'm not one to sit an election out as Lord Ian Blair advises http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20020451

Put very simply elected PCC's are happening so it falls on us the electorate to try & choose the best candidate for the job.

On that note I did have a look at the candidates where I am last night. Can't say I was impressed with any of them to be honest.

The Tory candidate is all about cuts & privatization. Call me what you will, but I want a PCC to act in the best interests of the police, not Gideon Osbourne. As there are no English Democrats standing where I live that makes the Conservative the worst candidate for the job here.

The Labour candidate is just another party lickspittle. Not good.

The UKIP candidate is plainly a bit of an idiot, but interestingly UKIP are going against public service cuts in this instance. Whether or not they can actually achieve anything is another matter though.

The Independent seems obsessed with the fact that Labour are funded by trade unions, and makes a lot of noise about "keeping politics out of policing", although again, reality may clash with that particular soundbite.

My great worry is that a very low turnout will let the Tory in.

[T_i_B]

5. Polling day is tomorrow

Has anyone actually received a leaflet from any of the candidates, or come across any campaigning in this election whatsoever?

I'm struggling to think of any election as poor as this one. No wonder turnout is projected to be so poor when election campaigning has been pretty much non-existant.

[LeftishBrit]

6. Got a leaflet from Labour a few weeks ago.

Nothing since from any of them.

Will go and vote tomorrow, for the Labour candidate Tim Starkey. Haven't yet decided if I'll put anyone 2nd at all, and if so, whether it will be the LibDem or one of the Independent candidates, Patience Awe. It would be tactical either way, as I do not want the Tory candidate, or the UKIP one, or the other Independent one, Geoff Howard, who was a Slough councillor and switched from Labour to the Tories to UKIP to now Independent, so obviously a bit of a nut.

It's difficult to find out what any of them actually plans to do about policing as such; but at least Tim Starkey is against cuts to policing, and cuts in general.

The turnout is going to be dismal.

[Nihil]

7. The only one that's arrived at our house ...

... was from frigging UKIP!

It went straight into the recycle bin as I didn't intend to compare their arguments against the more
likely candidates but it then turns out that said "more likely candidates" either don't know what they
are proposing themselves or simply don't care and are hoping that votes will be on party lines.

What a huge waste of time & money just for some policy wonk to be able to tick a box on their
"promoting democracy" worksheet ...

[tjwmason]

8. I bumped into the Labour candidate

With a group of canvassers out one Sunday morning. Nothing from the others.

[non sociopath skin]

9. No, no leaflets. No, can't remember such a poor campaign.

Only articles and letters in the local press have evidenced that there's an election at all.

There have been hustings in the more heavily populated bits of the Northumbria police area. Nothing at all in Northumberland, so far as I'm aware.

I heard of one meeting at which Labour's Vera Baird was the only candidate to show. At another, the Lib Dem sent a stand-in who told the punters that they didn't agree with the elections but that people should vote Lib Dem anyway. The UKIP guy has been conspicuous by his absence.

I will vote for Vera faut de mieux.

The Skin

[non sociopath skin]

11. Just been to do my democratic duty

The officials told me I was the thirty-first person to vote in 5 hours.

BTW They couldn't tell me why they now have to display a notice to say that you must phone your mobile off before entering the polling station. Or indeed why they aren't allowed to turn theirs off ...

Democracy. Depends who's doin' de mockin' ....

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

10. Voted this morning. The polling station was like a desert island.

[T_i_B]

12. If any of you need more info

38 Degrees have asked all the PCC candidates what their views on police privatization are. Here's their handiwork.

https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/pages/police_commissioners_vote_tomorrow

It's more information then any of the political parties themselves have provided.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. I got sent a Labour leaflet, and the Tories and Lib Dems used their regular 'newssheets'

Since there was no allowance for the delivery of 1 leaflet, which candidates get at most elections, most independents haven't been able to do anything. Thanks to that 38 Degrees page (thanks, T_i_B), I was able to make up my mind for my 2nd preference (Lib Dem, who gave comprehensive answers, rather than the ex-Tory, who I wondered about mainly because, Hampshire being such a Tory county, he may be the most likely to get to the 2nd round against Mates; Labour got my 1st pref, since she seems sensible, and had been the chair of the police authority till now anyway).

When I voted at about 3pm, they said it had been very quiet; I reckon about 1 in 15 on the page of the register I was on had voted. There might be a 'surge' (well, a vague pulse) when most peopel came back from work, but I reckon 15% turnout will be optimistic, unless a lot have voted by post.

[T_i_B]

15. Did the Tory bumph come with plenty of gypsy-bashing?

I ask because of the below article.

I voted on the way from from a rather unpleasant visit to the dentist. Even when I'm in severe discomfort I still do my democratic duty!

There was more then just me voting when I went in. However, it was clear that very few people had turned out and I would be suprised if as many as 15% voted where I am.

I won't say who I voted for, other then I voted 1st preference only. The candidates on offer where so poor that I just couldn't bring myself to give out sloppy seconds to any of them. It was bad enough trying to find the least worst for the 1st preference.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/nov/16/michael-mates-gypsy-pcc-election?intcmp=239

The former Conservative minister Michael Mates, one of the lead contenders to become the first police and crime commissioner in Hampshire, is being investigated after the police force over which he hopes to preside received complaints alleging he used racist language in his election statement.

The Independent revealed that the 78-year-old former Northern Ireland minister had been accused of breaching equality laws by referring to "problems created by Gypsies and Travellers" on the Home Office website, Choosemypcc, set up to help voters choose which candidate they favoured.

Hampshire police confirmed it had received two complaints about the use of alleged racist language and had passed them for investigation to the Thames Valley force to avoid any conflict of interest. Thames Valley police is already investigating a complaint from one of Mates's rivals alleging he broke election rules on residency requirements.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. To be honest, I threw the Tory one away without reading much of it

I already knew I didn't want Mates to win, so wasn't interested in what it had to say about him. But that does reinforce my dislike of him.

[Nihil]

18. Wouldn't vote for him for other reasons but there was nothing "racist" in that statement.

At least Hampshire police did the right thing in passing the complaint to an outside force
rather than be trapped in a lose-lose situation by handling it themselves.

Sigh.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Some turnout figures:

Wiltshire: 15.3%
Merseyside: 12.9%
Essex: 13.06%
Gwent: 14.3%
Cleveland: 15.2%

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20354044

One polling station in Newport had 0 votes. I wonder if the pair of people running it voted somewhere else, or if they too thought it wasn't worth voting?

[LeftishBrit]

17. 13.3 per cent in Thames Valley

What a farce it all is.

[T_i_B]

19. What I've gleaned of the results so far...

Lord Prescott lost Humberside. Shock of the day that one.

It appears that the people of Hampshire have dodged a bullet as Michael Mates didn't have enough mates to see off an independent candidate.

Vera Baird won Northumbria for Labour.

I voted in Derbyshire, where Labour also won. I didn't think much of the Labour candidate but at least it's not the Tory, who looked to me to be pretty dire.

In other, non-PCC news it also seems that an Independent candidate has won the Bristol Mayoral contest.

[non sociopath skin]

20. It seems that Mayor Ferguson wasn't exactly an "independent" ...

... according to Wikipedia, he has been an active Liberal (including a PPC) for many years and only resigned his party membership earlier this year (presumably having realised that he couldn't win as a Lib Dem).

Makes me wonder how "Independent" some of the other successful Independents today actually were.

At least Prezza stood under his true colours. BTW I never saw Humberside as a shoo-in for him. I went to Uni there and apart from Hull (in which Labour hasn't lately been flavour of the month) and a couple of other urban centres, it's largely rural, pretty well-heeled and very Tory - not unlike neighbouring Lincolnshire.

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

21. The Tory (Stansfield) won in Thames Valley. Sigh.

The Daily Fail seem to regard the defeat of Prescott as the big political news of the day -it's their big headline, well ahead of the by-elections which would not be so much to their liking.

The Express reports Corby thusly:

'THE UK Independence Party has trounced the Liberal Democrats in the Corby by-election.'

Well, I suppose that's ONE way of putting it!

[T_i_B]

22. It's a definite trend in RW reporting of bad election results

If things go badly for the Tories, praise the UKIP result instead and ignore the blue buggers. Not that it looks in any way desperate or anything.....

Anyway, time for me to post the results properly as a link

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9681461/Police-commissioner-election-live-results-map.html#

[non sociopath skin]

23. The American RW made themselves dizzy spinning the news prior to the Presidential ...

... and we know where that got them.

If the Mail wants to stay in denial, so be it.

The Skin

[tjwmason]

24. Ceasing to be in denial

Would be the biggest editorial shift in the Daily Hate's entire existence...somehow I don't see that happening soon.

[T_i_B]

25. Well I don't think PCC results were a "victory" for either left or right.

Lots of Independents did well, but the whole thing was so shambolic that democracy did not come out any better.