they ought to have barred political parties from sponsoring candidates

Here (Avon & Somerset) we have the usual Lab/Lib/Con triumvirate with one independent.

So if I don't want party politics to come into play, then I have one candidate - who happens to be an ex magistrate and member of the Police Authority so hardly seems like a 'fresh of breath air' candidate (I may be doing her a disservice, but as I've had bugger all election literature through all I can go on is first impressions).

Of the other candidates, we have an ex High Sheriff of Bristol, an ex Council leader, and another member of the Police Authority. No-one seems to be campaigning on anything other than their party's current national policy, and I really am loathe to have some career local politician/bigwig creaming off yet another highly paid sinecure.

The political parties seem to have put up their local grandees rather than anyone with genuine fresh ideas, or even people that on paper look remotely like they'll hold the police democratically to account. They all carry the taint of being part of the same rotten system of local public office.

It doesn't help that they are making campaign promises to change things that only Parliament can do - and that some (specificallyLabour) are campaigning on the platform of tackiling Coalition policies and cuts. THATS NOT WHAT YOUR ROLE IS ABOUT! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE HOLDING THE POLICE TO ACCOUNT AND SHAPING LOCAL POLICING - NOT MITHERING OVER CENTRAL GOVERNMENT POLICY.

I have a horrible feeling that these roles will become a damp squib - and at ?100k per annum (plus pension, plus overheads and hangers on) it's a post that's a bloody expensive luxury to carry.

And what's the betting that the Government of the day favours Police Authorities with a 'friendly' commissioner at the expense of those who have elected a different party's candidate? It happens already at the Council level, so I'd say it's pretty inevitable.

Nice idea in principle, but as ever, in practice it'll be quite a different beast.

Posted By: CWC, Oct 23, 12:10:54