are you voting on thursday

[pete]

Thursday sees the election of police commisioners countrywide.Is anyone on here voting and if you are will you be voting for the person or their party.Personally will be voting but do not understand why all the candidates are standing as a political party.The post if needed should not be political

[Bibs]

I would vote, but I don't give a toss! What is this, Gotham?

[MartinL]

I have voting forms..............................nothing more, dont know who is standing, political or not, no door knockers, so I wont be wasting my time at the village hall !!!!

[Loose Cannon]

do not understand why all the candidates are standing as a political party.The post if needed should not be political

Know very little about it, and this bit has me baffled too. Shall we have a sweep on the turnout figure? 20%?

[arbell9]

16.7%

I have had one leaflet. The ideas I understand is to have independent thought helping to set strategy but only the main political parties have fronted candidates. They will follow direction from high command making the concept redundant. The areas folk cover are massive, how is a local, person able to afford to leaflet an entire regional policing area. The cost of tens of thousands of leaflets is a lot, plus they need a large team to help deliver. How do they have the money to book lots venues for public meetings to air their views. They don't . It's a political fix to get more labour/ Tory politicians into the systems. It gives them a platform to kick the police locally at a time when they are cutting numbers in a big way and at a time when they are trying to outsource policing work to companies like G4s. It's a clusterfcuk of an idea. An active no vote sends a message to them political elite to stop screwing with the system so as to benefit them. The government wants to absolve itself from policing policy, the home office and minisy of justice want to be able to blame police commissioners when things go wrong. Government sets the direction, the police chiefs implement and manage. Simple.

I won't be voting for people who have not explained them selves to me, as none have I won't be voting. This is active abstention, I suggest others do the same. An ultra low turnout will make this concept illegitimate an should force a rethink. Do I expect that no, because labories have another political appointment for them to control.

Basically it's a load of shambolic bollocks.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Agree with you there.

The police are less than happy with the cuts, they probably don't like being referred to as 'Plebs' either, this is another way of taking control, silencing the unrest within the system.

I will vote, I just feel it's important to register my support for a party opposed to the Lib/Con farce.

[Kimbers]

I would urge everyone to vote and kick out the governments attempt at politicising the Police by voting for an independant, or if there is no independant voting for someone from outside of the normal big 3.

The Polce Authority, that used to do this job was made up of 70% independants/Magistrates etc, with only a limited number of "councillors" allowed on it. In my mind voting for someone who is not independant will just lead to decisions being made that are in the interests of the Party rather than the public or Police service.

[Gonzo]

I agree with Kimbers. The further the Police are from the big political parties the better for everyone.

As for pre-election flyers: we've had a glossy 'newspaper' from the Tories - and a letter from an Independant.

[molemot]

As always in matters relevant to policing, I can do no better than refer you to Inspector Gadget....

http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/

Scroll down to read his take on the PCC elections....starts after the "Pleb" mug piece!!

[Mike6]

Just voted. The usual list of Labour/Conservative/Liberal candidates. Since this is supposed to be non political went for the independant candidate.

Our Polling station said hardly anyone had been in - they were all reading books!.

[Kimbers]

Good for you. Buddsy, go with the independant in Norfolk. He even left his party because he doesn't believe it should be a political issue or run by a party.

[ChrisJ]

Just voted - didn't know we were voting until this thread started yesterday and I checked. We have had nothing through the post about this, no clue as to who any of the candidates were/are.

However, we always vote, even if like earlier in the year when there were only the LIBLABCON same policy parties we wrote "none of the above" on the ballot paper. This time there was another choice, so they got the cross. No-one got my 2nd vote.

As Mike said, the polling station said that they had had a 5% turnout and that they hoped they might get up to 7%.

I do have a query though.

The poll card has a number on it.

This number is then written down on a sheet of paper against the the ballot paper number I was issued.

Not exactly a secret ballot.

Chris

[Iconic Ride]

Woman runs down husband for not voting

Photo: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. Image: Police allege Holly Solomon ran over her husband after they had an argument over the 2012 presidential election 2 days ago By David Schwartz of Reuters

Police say Daniel Solomon told them his wife was upset at President Barack Obama's re-election and her husband's failure to vote.

PHOENIX - An Arizona woman, in despair at the re-election of Democratic President Barack Obama, ran down her husband with the family car in suburban Phoenix on Saturday because he failed to vote in the election, police said on Monday.

Holly Solomon, 28, was arrested after running over husband Daniel Solomon following a wild chase that left him pinned underneath the vehicle.

Daniel Solomon, 36, was in critical condition at a local hospital, but is expected to survive, Gilbert police spokesman Sergeant Jesse Sanger said.

Police said Daniel Solomon told them his wife became angry over his "lack of voter participation" in last Tuesday's presidential election and believed her family would face hardship as a result of Obama winning another term.

Witnesses reported the argument broke out on Saturday morning in a parking lot and escalated. Mrs Solomon then chased her husband around the lot with the car, yelling at him as he tried to hide behind a light pole, police said. He was struck after attempting to flee to a nearby street.

Sounds like they take their civic duties seriously in Arizona.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Know very little about it, and this bit has me baffled too. Shall we have a sweep on the turnout figure? 20%?

We voted very late, turn out had been very low, something like 12% apparently.

[basalte]

What was wrong with the old system ? Well, nothing much. There was still accountability to the members of the local Police Authority. I fear that political influence will be used to justify the privatisation of the police with priority given to shareholders and/or Board members` wallets over the safety of the public. A morally bankrupt scenario.

I note that all the candidates were "against crime" Well, whoo hoo ! We might as well be being asked to vote for the Town Crier with the loudest handbell and the biggest wig.

As former Minister Gyles Brandreth eloquently put it, politicians are always tempted to appear to be doing something even when nothing is needed, following the maxim : "I tinker therefore I am".

The more earthy maxim : If it ain`t broke don`t fix it " applies to this present farce.

[Gonzo]

In response to ChrisJ's query, recording the ballot paper number against the name of the voter is done as a safeguard against election fraud.

Each ballot paper has a unique number, which is recorded against the voter's name/poll number. The ballot papers and list of names/numbers are then stored seperately under lock and key, for 5 years. During that time, if any vote fixing or mischief is suspected, a Court Order can be made for the papers to be dug out and checked over.

ChrisJ is right though. Technically, it's not a secret vote - though it does help avoid the situations that crop up in other countries, where the wrong 'uns can romp home with 100%.

[ChrisJ]

Thanks for the explanation Andy.

While I can see how this works here, I would have thought that this system would encourage the 100% result in those countries run by the wrong'uns. Having lived in Uganda for 11 years, if this system was proposed for any of the votes (and there are quite a few), the population would be up in arms - at least the city/town dwelling ones would.

[Gonzo]

- a point well made Chris.

[red vtec]

Didn't vote, as I didn't know enough about each candidate. the Cons(ervatives) got in here. the so called Independent was an ex Copper so one wonders how independent?

A complete farce. The Party candidates must surely tow the party line to a major degree. Also I dont see how anyone can put themselves forward to manage a multi million pound budget if they have never had a similar role in the past?

Edited November 17, 2012 by red vtec

[rogerch]

"The greatest threat to our society, is our own complacency" (Roger Harris, University address 2010)

[Iconic Ride]

"The greatest threat to our complacency, is our own society." (John Heath, near a university, 2012)

[73JPS]

"The greatest threat to our 'own' is our 'complacency', society! (Stretchin It, Nowhere, No-ways)

[Kimbers]

Pleased to say that the message got out there and Norfolk now has a fully independant Commissioner. Sad to say that every other area in East Anglia got a Tory one (Apart from Beds which is Labour).