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!)

This dismal failure to engage, coming from candidates for the party of the likely next government, is bloody depressing.

@ALovelyCupOfNameChange Matthew Barber has replied - I sent my email this evening at 20.02, he responded at 20.15!!

(And the response is excellent)

I’m a Labour Party member too. No response from the Labour or Green candidate. It feels awful, but I will vote for the Tory.

I was a LibDem member until they kicked me out in 2018 for being GC. I find it so sad that the Tory responded quickly and with a well thought out policy position, but I expect the LibDem candidate to ignore my perfectly reasonable questions because he will write me off as a bigot. Maybe he will surprise me...but at least he can't say the issue isn't coming up on doorsteps.

The LibDem candidate for South Yorkshire Mayor and PCC, Hannah Kitching, is firmly TWAW and has blocked all who disagree with her or attempt to ask questions (which she terms 'hate') on Twitter/X. There's a thread elsewhere about it. This is my local mayoral election. Ms Kitching will not be getting my vote. Is this what we really want from a PCC?

She’s also got replies turned off on X (Twitter).

This suggests (to me) that she’s isn’t at all bothered about engaging with us plebs and that she possibly considers that she has the win in the bag anyway.

She is the current deputy PCC. Clearly hasn’t made a difference for women. South Wales Police eagerly adopted the trans search policy and the Commissioner’s team have the infamous bearded man ‘lesbian’ chairing their public legitimacy group. Ms Wools has not uttered a peep about either issue.

It’ll be a hard no from me.

Isn’t the voting turnout for this notoriously low. You can see why when they can’t even be bothered to reply. I’d understand those attached to political parties to toe the party line but they should be acknowledging and reply even if it’s not what you want to hear.

it seems a nice job if you can get it. Do fuck all

Debating whether to just not return paper at all or spoil it first. Fuck are any of them getting my vote.

I’ve had one “thanks for the message, we will reply soon” acknowledgement and nothing from the other two.

Very unimpressed

It’ll be a hard no from me.

The only way of expressing that hard no will be by voting Conservative. Otherwise Emma Wools will get in on a tiny apathetic turnout. I've actually bribed several friends to come with me and vote by offering a drink afterwards. Otherwise I think most of them wouldn't have bothered voting. Please, feminists of South Wales, drag a friend along with you to vote. Maybe that way we can swing it. It could come down to a handful of votes.

George Carroll, Conservative — don't forget. It does my head in, encouraging women to vote for a male Conservative and not a female Labour candidate, but we live in extraordinary times.

The election's tomorrow. Of the 5 I emailed, I've had a full and detailed response from the Tory. I've not even had an acknowledgement of my email from LibDem, Labour, or the two independents. So Tory it is, I guess. Infuriating.

I’ve just realised I’ve not received my postal vote yet wither

Blimey.

I've had a snotty reply from the Green candidate the thrust of which was I'm not going to engage with you, you bigot, give your bigoted vote to whoever you like. He's a professional middle-aged man.

I'm quite shocked actually.

My 'lived experience' recently is that the Conservative elected politicians are much more democratic (in terms of actually answering enquiries) and have a better work ethic than other political party candidates. My lib dem leafleted me with a horrible leaflet today - it's was 100% how terrible the Tories were and nothing concrete about their own policies (so the main policy I know from them is that TWAW and horrible slurs if you disagree).

Of course, the Tories have their work shy wastes of space too - my MP is one - but for local councillors and the PCC the Tory candidates are hard working and rooted in reality and not ideology.

I'm astonished by how rude this man has been to one of the electorate who he would represent if successful. He's standing for public office. He's stood (unsuccessfully) for Parliament. He's not a young hothead but a middle aged man with a long professional career.

Some of them really do hate us, don't they.

I’m told by several women that they had a really good email response from George Carroll, very positive in terms of key issues. I’ve seen the replies too so I’m reassured.
Putting tribal loyalties to one side, only George has shown the requisite minerals for the PCC vote in South Wales.

@Dumbledoreslemonsherbets I have an utterly abysmal Tory MP as well (whose initials are AA, perhaps we have the same) but...now that I think about it, our local Tory councillor is brilliant. I follow him on Instagram and he's a really nice guy, family man and devoted to his kids, grew up in care and was adopted, lives in a completely normal house, worked in Argos for 8 years and then the Jobcentre before becoming a councillor. He's always out and about in the community doing the bread and butter stuff that makes people's lives just a little nicer like litter picks, potholes, fly tipping, trying to improve bus schedules and parking. He's always there for community events and his big thing is walking all over his patch every weekend like a friendly rambling hiker. He'll also respond super quickly when you message him on Instagram.

Whenever people say things like "all Tories are scum" I always think - well I know at least one who definitely isn't scum. I don't know why it is that when they get to Westminster they often seem to play up to the "nasty party" stereotype.

Election's tomorrow and I still haven't heard from any candidate except the Tory, Matthew Barber. Self-fulfilling result that I'm going to vote for the only candidate to respect me as a voter enough to respond to questions.

I’ve also found this - I’m historically a labour voter but have always found my local tory MPs etc to be pleasant and dedicated people (even if i don’t always politically align with them) who seem to understand that their role is to represent ALL their constituents, not just the ones who agree with them.

(obligatory disclaimer that of course some tory MPs are workshy arseholes and plenty of non-tory MPs are also hardworking etc - that’s just been my experience.)

Discovered yesterday that I'm still on the Labour Party mailing list. WTAF! I'm pretty sure I was here complaining about this at the last general election.

I’ve sent the email complaining about a lack of reply and copied in the local parties they are associated with.
I will probably be on some blocked list. But fuck it.

was his reply rude enough to forward on to the local party?

Thanks OP, David is our candidate so that's good to know.

For anyone voting in HERTFORDSHIRE I emailed all 4 candidates. Only the Conservative candidate replied, saying he felt biological sex was important and should be used as the basis for all the instances I mentioned (same sex searches, crime reporting).

Lisa Townsend PCC Tory candidate for Surrey has emailed me back with a comprehensive list of her views on keeping single sex provisions and crime recording.

I will be voting for her.
lib dems and labour have not responded, the independent was uncontactable .
in the past I have been told by the Lib Dem's on many occasions that Trans women are women.

I've now (on the day of the election) received an answer from the Labour candidate, who in response to my email with questions about single sex provision just said "oh it's difficult, this is a Westminster issue and no candidate for PCC can promise anything". No indication on what he believes personally should be the situation for single-sex provision for women in custody, recording crimes by sex rather than gender, and risk assessment by sex not gender. And no indication that he thinks the current situation should change.

Well at least the Tory said he disagrees with the current guidance, and he'll keep trying to change it by speaking up in the press and writing to the Home Secretary.