[Politics] Are you voting today?

[Thunder Bolt]

Just PCC where I am and that wasn't worth getting a proxy vote sorted for.

I did vote the first time PCC came up, the list was the three political party reps plus four independents. None of them sent anything to say who they were or what they did, there was nothing in the polling station, so you're just voting on the name. So I chose one of the independents with a nice name and voted for them, because I'm damned if I'm going to vote for a political party rep of any hue to be the PCC. But of course the Tory won.

Totally daft, but at least we haven't gone as far as the states where they vote for everything from judges to attorney generals to heads of the the fire service to the railroad commissioner.

Not yet.

 

[A mex eyecan]

No, no point. The first time ever in 47 years that I’ve not bothered.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

The LibDens are opposed to the PCC and have said it publicly.

And yet they put someone forward for PCC elections. Forgive me if I find anything the Lib Dems say as untruthful ** cough - student fees **, ** cough - how long it takes to get to Sheepcote Valley from Brighton Station **, ** cough - photos of what the stadium might look like from .... Ditchling Beacon **, ** cough - Attempted prosecution of an Albion fan for a wanted poster **, and of course David Bellotti ! The Lib Dems are as trustworthy with what they say as any other political party - i.e. NOT.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

And yet they put someone forward for PCC elections. Forgive me if I find anything the Lib Dems say as truthful ** cough - student fees **, ** cough - how long it takes to get to Sheepcote Valley from Brighton Station **, ** cough - photos of what the stadium might look like from .... Ditchling Beacon **, ** cough - Attempted prosecution of an Albion fan for a wanted poster **, and of course David Bellotti ! The Lib Dems are as trustworthy with what they say as any other political party - i.e. NOT.

We can point to every party and find wrong uns. I know two Lib Dems in Newhaven that I trust, and the prev Tory MP for Kemptown is a Brighton sth on my row at the Amex.

 

[Since1982]

PCC and town council by election here. I'm expecting the Tory candidate to win the town council election given how well the local Tories have whipped up feeling about an increase in car park charges imposed by the Lib Dem District Council.

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

Only PCC today here - and no I won't be voting because, as per the voter ID thread, I don't agree with running the police with politicians.

I went along and spoiled my ballot by writing Ted Hastings for PPC on it.

 

[Comrade Sam]

As much as our democracy is a joke, the Suffragettes and Chartists amongst others fought long and hard for the right to vote. The least I can do is walk to the top of the street and mark a cross by the least offensive choice on the ballot. Mayoral election here in London and there's so many racist pricks on the ballot it really left little choice.

 

[JBizzle]

Wouldn't miss it

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Only PCC today here - and no I won't be voting because, as per the voter ID thread, I don't agree with running the police with politicians.

So by not voting do you think this will stop the police being run by a politician?

 

[KZNSeagull]

As much as our democracy is a joke, the Suffragettes and Chartists amongst others fought long and hard for the right to vote. The least I can do is walk to the top of the street and mark a cross by the least offensive choice on the ballot. Mayoral election here in London and there's so many racist pricks on the ballot it really left little choice.

Binface?

 

[CheeseRolls]

You can find details on the PCC candidates and their election statements at
https://choosemypcc.org.uk/area/sussex
Other areas are available.

I don't think PCCs are the right way to govern policing. For me it skews attention to local issues such as anti-social behaviour and away from the huge inefficiencies which could be better addressed by collaboration across forces. I do know that Chief Constables do not enjoy the scrutiny and accountability this provides. Given that this is so lacking in parliament, across our industry regulators and in company boardrooms, I would be reluctant to throw the baby out with the bath water. The weakest link here is that some PCCs are not very good, which reflects the low level of scrutiny that get both during elections and once in post.

 

[Ethelwulf]

Just voted for labour in west Worthing . First time I have voted labour since 2005 . Told the old boy Tory there that Worthing is about to go red and hopefully Sir Peter Wankstain the leader of the house will be on his bike soon at the election as well . Until the Tory party returns to the centre I will never vote blue again

 

[CheeseRolls]

I also had a council vote this morning. Shoreham Beach will almost certainly vote to retain its residence association council representative. Given there is no Conservative, Labour have fielded a paper candidate and the greens and lib dems are not expected to make much of an impact either.

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

Binface?

His polices are spot on.

Anyone who wants to scrap VAR has my vote.

 

[The Clamp]

Just voted.

Lots of options here in Adur. Many of them ****s, of course.

Controversially, I’m sticking with KB as PCC. For various reasons.

 

[BattFink]

Only have the PCC elections in our ward... personally think the role should be scrapped & funds used for actual policing

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

You can find details on the PCC candidates and their election statements at
https://choosemypcc.org.uk/area/sussex
Other areas are available.

I don't think PCCs are the right way to govern policing. For me it skews attention to local issues such as anti-social behaviour and away from the huge inefficiencies which could be better addressed by collaboration across forces. I do know that Chief Constables do not enjoy the scrutiny and accountability this provides. Given that this is so lacking in parliament, across our industry regulators and in company boardrooms, I would be reluctant to throw the baby out with the bath water. The weakest link here is that some PCCs are not very good, which reflects the low level of scrutiny that get both during elections and once in post.

Agree. Better they apply for the job. The problem is, who chairs (and indeed who sits on) the appointments committee? A CEO of a PLC is elected by the shareholders isn't he? Or she? Maybe we could have an election using prisoners as the electorate?

 

[sparkie]

No - can't be arsed to blindfoldedly pin the tail on the police commissioner donkey.

 

[CheeseRolls]

Agree. Better they apply for the job. The problem is, who chairs (and indeed who sits on) the appointments committee? A CEO of a PLC is elected by the shareholders isn't he? Or she? Maybe we could have an election using prisoners as the electorate?

Non-executive directors are supposed to provide some independent oversight, shareholders get to vote at the AGM.
We elect the PCC who then gets to appoint the Chief Constable and control the budget for the force. They are also increasingly looking to take on responsibilities for the local Fire Service, though not that many have actively taken this step yet.

 

[Gwylan]

Queen's Park and Kemptown residents shouldn't forget we have a by-election here today too.

My sister is the presiding officer in Queen's Park and was moaning that she had double the workloads of other POs. I hadn't realised that they have to serve for the whole time the polling stations are open and deliver the boxes; I thought there'd be shifts - it's a hell of a long day