Police commissioner elections: I'm spoiling my paper

[Cartoonjane]

What a lot of popycock this is. It seems to me to be a leaflet making competition as I don't know any of the candidates. I have decided to spoil my paper.

We have one retired tv presenter standing and 2 party people. I dont support the Coalition on very much. But I will vote next Thursday because Chief Constables have played God all my life. And it needs shaking up.

One of the reasons we haven't heard much about it is funding. Normally in e,ections royal mail do 1 free postage to every household from candidates. In my PCC area there are nearly 3m people. How can a candidate with no funding get round to all those? Even if they do 3 public meetings a day with 30 people in attendance (which candidates have been doing here) they're only going to speak to about 1,000 people. Doesn't even make a dent.

Normally activists would be campaigning. But they are not motivated as no-one wants these elections or this post.

In the past I have advocated spoiling papers. I think if you don't vote you don't get a say, but should be able to make the point that you're participating, that you care.

In this case with turnout being so low it does risk far right parties getting in. Remember it's not normal voting system and funny things can start happening when you get to counting 2nd choices

Not an easy choice

UKIP is the furthest right standing here -- obviously not ideal but I think I'll take the risk on this occasion, and learn my lesson if he does get in. If there was a BNP candidate I might think differently.

This was an ill conceived idea that has been rushed through with little thought to the consequences. And that's from someone who, on November 15, will effectively be voting for my new boss.

Policing has its issues, but was never so broken it couldn't be fixed. The candidates here are, all but one, pledging to put more officers on the beat. That simply can't happen and it's a pledge they will not be able to fulfil without raising council tax significantly (which legislation actually protects against). Do they seriously think that chief constables and police authorities have not already been working creatively in the past three years (since the government's spending review) to do just that - cut back office staff to protect the number of officers on our streets?

I'm all for democracy, but the membership of the current police authority includes councillors members (elected by the public) and independents (apolitical, recruited from their communities). You don't get much more democratic than that. It also safeguards against a maverick individual bulldozing through completely inappropriate policies.

I am now faced with the prospect of resigning on the principle that i do not wish to work for a politician. Unless one of the independents in this area are elected of course....

There was an item on the lunchtime BBC news about these elections today. Then the local news had Tony Blair spouting support for John Prescott. So maybe expect to see more media coverage from now?

I don't know who the candidates are and the first i new of these elections is when ballot thing was posted through my letter box.

For all those saying they don't know who their candidates are:

www.choosemypcc.org.uk

Once again, it's a 'be careful what you wish for' situation- except I can't recall wishing for elected police commissioners! What I mean is this odd idea that we all want red, raw 'democracy' in all things. ( Do you call California's foray into this? where The People were given the direct vote about whether public taxes should be raised to pay for increased municipal services? The People voted 'No' then suddenly the bins stopped being emptied. Democracy in action.)

I don't want a publicly elected police commissioner because, although I consider myself to be a reasonably engaged, well-educated and committed public spirited person who always votes and tries to take an interest in such matters, the reality is I have no idea what qualities make a good Police Commissioners! I do not have the skills necessary to make this 'decision' and do not pretend to.

In the same way I don't want parent-lead schools or patient-lead hospitals. Self-interest ahoy! I want these things to be lead by properly trained, as apolitical as possible grown-ups with an accountant's heart and a vicar's sense of public duty. Not the bloke with the most populist sound-bite.

My sister made a good point: "this isn't truly democratic anyway because nobody asked me whether i wanted the change in the first place, let alone what that change would look like..." I'm pretty certain the Conservative element of the Coalition weren't elected for their manifesto commitment to police and crime commissioners. And they certainly haven't listened to the numerous opinions telling them quite vocally that this isn't what people want.

i was not going to vote

then i discovered that one of the candidates here is co-founder of EDL, so now i have to go and vote to cancel out at least one of the feckers who will vote for him.

I think lots of people are going to spoil for this election. I know a few who have done so already with their postal vote. It would be great if there was a significant number of spoilers in my view.

The whole idea is Tory drivel and I am not going to vote - if you oppose the idea, you should abstain rather than spoil because this will be killed by low turnout.

If directly elected local commissioners are a good idea, why stop at policing?

Why not a locally elected tax commissioner to determine the top rate of income tax?

Why not a locally elected schools commissioner to decide how schools should be run?

Because they might come up with the wrong answer....

Thanks for posting the links to the website about candidates.
I've had a look and will be voting for one of the independent candidates, who sounds like a very capable and sensible woman.

I don't wish to vote for any of the candidates in my area.

I would like a "None of the above" option

We had the polling cards a few weeks ago. But no leaflets from candidates, no information whatsoever. I thought there was a booklet thing you were supposed to get explaining the process?

I am another who was shocked that the candidates are standing with a party political label. I do not want (even more) politicisation of the system.

The independents here are not credible and there is no way I'm voting for a party politician so I will not be voting.

Another thing that is disturbing about this is that the people most likely to vote, ie older people, often can't access information online, and the helpline doesn't help.

www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

And the amount of time and money this is costing someone ...

Have only recently realised that the voting system being adopted means I have to find TWO choices - even less publicity given to that than to the candidates.

The local UKIP candidate's surname is Shatwell.

Says it all, really.

I was going to spoil my ballot until I saw there's an EDL candidate so now I have to vote.

This was a really useful discussion - I was going to spoil my ballot paper or not bother but have now researched the local candidates - Thanks for the link LtEveDallas- I plan to vote for the ones seem like they have appropriate experience and views to do a good job and also think the elections are a rubbish idea and the post shouldn't be political. Even some of the ones affiliated to political parties make that point.
One of the candidates made the following comment about leafleting: The fact is that the cost of leafleting 2.6 million people would cost a minimum of £72,000 just to print them, and the cost of delivery many times that. To raise money to send leaflets would involve me taking money from wealthy business people or vested interests, and I?m not prepared to do that. They are covering much bigger areas then your normal elections so makes sense.

Yes, thank you, LtEveDallas for the link. At last, I've discovered who all my candidates are (Thames Valley). So far we've had only one single page newspaper from the Conservative candidate and no one else but the write ups on the Internet about each one's past is very useful and I now have a choice of UKIP or Independent.

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.

I am spoiling my ballot.

I cannot for the life of me see how a single elected Police Commissioner for the police force over a wide area (depending on the force) can possibly be more democratic than the police authority.

The Police Authority was made up of a majority (9/17) of elected councillors (so accountable to the electorate) who can represent the different areas for which the police force is responsible. i.e. both rural and urban areas have a voice (for example).

In addtion the remaining 8 members of the authority are independents co-opted by the authority from the communities it serve for their knowledge of both policing and the communities served.

The Police Authority wasn't a perfect system, but looking at the States, I think a single elected political commissioner is a much worse option.

1. I wish to make my opinion known (and yes, I will write to my MP)
2. I do not wish to lend legitimacy to such a deeply flawed process.