Police and Crime Commissioner elections - important

[Needmoresleep]

All sorts of elections are taking place in early May. Postal votes will be dropping through letter boxes any day now.

The expectation is that many will vote either for the party they have always voted for, or to express dissatisfaction with the current government, and the worry is that the PCC vote will go the same way.

Please don't do this. If we want Stonewall to stop training and advising our police forces, we need people vote for the PCC candidate who explicitly says they won't allow Stonewall to influence their force.

In some cases this will be the Conservative or a Conservatively minded independent, which might not be a bad thing. The next Government is very likely to be Labour with a strong majority. Labour along with LibDems and Greens will also dominate Local Authorities. PCCs who are willing to stand up and protect their forces against Stonewallification will be a useful, indeed essential, brake.

I understand that one of the women's organisations are surveying candidates across the country and, once they have responses, will give more guidance. In the meantime think before using your postal vote.

And, FWIW, David Sidwick the incumbent in Dorset, is a good bloke, who works hard and takes his job seriously. (I know him!)

1 response already. The Libdem candidate thought it was really good that ours was the only force in the top 100 and knows that the Chief Constable is really committed to Stonewall and EDI . So I told him that I thought they were a pernicious and divisive influence, which had led to gender not sex in recording of crimes and the infringement of single sex provision in DV, rape crisis, police searches, prisons etc. I asked him to look carefully at these issues should he be elected.

Thanks for the prompt. I'm part of WRN so really should have done this already!
I've emailed labour, conservative and Green candidates. Lib Dem has no email address but I already know her views anyway and I'd say she's a paper candidate. I may well be voting Conservative for the first time ever as I think the argument of a counterbalance makes a lot of sense. I'm in a swing seat so likely Labour next time.

I emailed every candidate on my ballot sheet last Monday and used those excellent succinct and clear questions provided above (thank you pp).

Not one has responded. Not one.

Loving this.

One candidate states: He aims to reduce crime by investing in community initiatives and early intervention strategies.

Same party more locally has just axed such a scheme whilst maintaining their personal pet projects which are complete white elephants.

Shall not be getting my vote.

The Libdem chap’s come back twice more. He felt there was an incongruence between my initial question and my response. I think he felt I’d tricked him. And he said I should raise the issues with the force, as he was only a candidate and couldn't be expected to understand the issues. It is the first time I have ever been tempted to tell someone to educate themself. Did respond quite briskly. And then he asked me if I had any evidence that Stonewall can be pernicious and divisive, or that our force weren’t respecting single sex provision for women, recording gender not sex or compromising safeguarding.
Ours is the force that sacked trans police woman, Lindsey Watson this year for gross misconduct on their anonomised social media. I would expect a candidate to have some awareness that it may be a controversial issue. I suppose I could find out where they stand on same sex searching of suspects, I could point out that Dawn Butler had to apologise to Parliament last week after being misled by Stonewall, who were lying about the Cass Report and trying to discredit a report that was trying to protect children. I could tell him that the force pays to be a Stonewall champion, try to find out through FOI how much they have spend on EDI training. But I do kind of feel that’s part of his due diligence. No doubt he will raise it with the Chief Constable and be reassured that he’s just come across one of those six nasty transphobic terfs, and to ignore.

He felt there was an incongruence between my initial question and my response.

The incongruence is between his understanding and abilities and those required by the position he’s running for.
Idiot.

I didn’t use the Women Rights Network questions in my initial approach because my career steered me towards neutral open questions. I did use them as the basis for my reply though. Not my fault he doesn't know enough about the issues to see that there might be differing views. Should I send him some links though?

I've just emailed my PCC candidates asking those three questions . I think they need to keep hearing them, at some point they'll have to stop lying that it never comes up .

Could you please clarify your position on women's rights and safety

1. Will you ensure that women are searched only by female police officers ?
2. Will you ensure that all crime data will be recorded by sex, not 'gender' ?
3. Will you ensure that sex, not 'gender' will be in all force policies and practices

The Conservative incumbent responded to say that ou4 Police Force has left theStonewall Scheme, and he agrees with that decision, so that’s good.

I think the Greens would benefit from an email even if you already know the response, there might be some sane members who'd welcome some backup

mine not replying has made me really angry. Not even acknowledging it, Its fucking rude. You want the prestige, you want the job, you want the wage. Yet don’t even have the common courtesy to reply to the people your asking to vote for you

Absolutely.

I mean even a reply I didn't want to hear shows a tiny baby step to engaging. Not even that.

It’s just contempt isn’t it.
where’s the reassurance they would be there if there’s an issue?

I've emailed the candidates who still haven't given me even the courtesy of an acknowledgement. I've said that, whatever their views on this particular matter, their failure to reply demonstrates a cowardly refusal to engage with difficult issues and therefore a fundamental unsuitability for public office. And that I shall be voting accordingly.

I'm a member of the Labour Party and I live in South Wales. The Labour PCC candidate Emma Wools has been evasive in written correspondence and refused invitations to come and speak to Labour women. The Conservative candidate George Carroll has engaged with women and supports a GC perspective.

I urge all South Wales women, from all parties, to vote for the Conservative PCC candidate. If I get thrown out of the Labour Party for this, so be it.

I've emailed my labour candidate, who is the only one I would have considered voting for, and she didn't reply, not even with an acknowledgement. So don't feel I can vote for her.
I feel cornered into spoiling my ballot paper.

If I get thrown out of the Labour Party for this, so be it.

This is something I've wondered about. If you publicise on SM that you are a Party member and you voted for a different candidate, and/or urged others to do so, would they/could they throw you out of the party? I ask because I'm in a similar position, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

(tbf, I think any political party would be quite entitled to do that)

My CLP knows where I stand on the issue of women's rights and there are plenty of other women in my women's branch who agree with me. I'm so utterly sick of Welsh Labour in particular that if they want to go to the trouble of bothering Mumsnet for my contact details and trying to track me down then let them, I'm beyond caring.

Can I steal this?!!

Feel free! 😁

Thames Valley people, I'm happy to have Matthew Barber as a possible vote but I've just emailed all 5 candidates to give the others a fair shake - will let you know if any of the others say anything heartening!

I also asked the two independents where their funding came from.

Votes matter!!

Can I steal it too?
you’ve worded it much better then my anger would allow!!

I’m still waiting a reply from anyone but Matthew barber.

@ALovelyCupOfNameChange Of course! I'm furious at being ignored. Sometimes that hones my ability to express myself, most of the time it doesn't!

3 candidates in my area.
Lib Dem: No acknowledgement and no response
Lab: No acknowledgement and no response
Con: Very quick and positive response with invitation to meet.