Police Commissioner Elections

[sunny-dave]

Tomorrow, for the first time ever, the public across England and Wales will elect police and crime commissioners who will be accountable for how crime is tackled in their police force area.

Tomorrow, for the first time ever, I will go to a Polling Station and deliberately spoil my ballot paper.

I have voted in every national, local and european election since I was old enough to vote - but this unnecessary farce is just a step too far.

The biggest reason to oppose these reforms is that they guarantee the politicisation of the police. In the summer of 2008 the new mayor of London, one Boris Johnson, sacked the Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Ian Blair, on the general grounds that Blair was a New Labour man at heart. It was a harbinger of what is to come: meddling from a partisan individual in the setting of the police budget and the disbursing of crime prevention funds.

I refuse to encourage this ridiculous nonsense by voting for anyone - but equally I cannot bear to be labelled as an 'apathetic non-voter'.

So I will write in big letters on my ballot paper "NONE OF THE ABOVE" and put a big X beside that.

[wiltsman]

gness - you don't need a polling card to vote. As for where to vote, it should be the same place as where you normally vote in the elections.

[DTCwordfan]

they came through about three weeks ago, gness, the cards that is. Seen nothing on who is who. Only know the Conservative candidate here as the Hunt Master referred to him in his spiel on Saturday. May go to the pub as the gorgeous Manageress, (running the shed for ten days while the owners are away), has promised to make bacon butties and hot coffee, fur coat on, but naked underneath.

Now if she was to stand as Commissioner....

[plautus]

Sorry, but I do not buy into the argument that one must vote because people in the past fought long and hard for the right to do so. Hand in hand with the right to vote goes the right not to vote.

[askyourgran]

Gness I don't think there is a vote for Pcc in Northern Ireland. Is that where you are?

[gness]

Right...never voted here......Northants AYG....but will find it and do as Dave is going to.
Of course we have the right not to vote Plautus but sitting on your bum doing nothing is no way to not give your vote.

[Psybbo]

As someone once said, if you don't vote you have no right to complain

[askyourgran]

Our Conservative candidate is a joke, she is a dead ringer for Pat Butcher and seems to have as much charisma for a Police and Crimes Commissioner as Reggie Kray. The whole thing is a wash-out.

[MASS1961]

I received my voting card about 4 weeks ago and I thought I would then receive information re the candidates......Nothing at all so I will therefore NOT be voting.
although I may visit and make a comment on my ballot paper.
I think turnout will be even less than local council voting. Waste of time and money....again.

[plautus]

Precisely my point! No future in mainstream politics, so let's settle for a nice cushy number behind the scenes. After all, the actual police will do all the real work, so all I have to do is make a few soundbites, sign a few documents and pick up my £85k p.a. I'm surprised Livingstone hasn't wangled himself one of these jobs.