Police Commissioners–To elect or not to elect?

Since the idea of having elected police chiefs was first mooted I have been against it.  I have seen the inevitable politicisation of the police service as a price to high to pay for any benefits that people said might be delivered.

Many I know have agreed with me but in recent times I have changed my mind.

The issues for me are public accountability and trust in the police service.  For a start I still flinch at the word ‘service’ as I would much prefer a police ‘force’.  The cuts in service numbers have not been fully completed yet and the reduction of service is there to be seen in the community.  Fact is that members of the public are fast losing faith in their local constabulary.  How can policing by consent be possible when the public have lost faith?

Having an elected police commissioner would re-engage the public with the police and provide a level of accountability which would reassure many.  Times have changed and policing cannot afford to struggle to stay the same.

Miiliband - Bumkum and twaddle

Ed Miliband is being urged by shadow cabinet members, in a two faced, lying cynical ploy, to promise a referendum on membership of the European Union should Labour win the next General Election.

Absolute bunkum and twaddle is the politest commentary that I can think of in relation to this revelation.

CONTENT WARNING:- if you do feel the need to follow the link provided above you will be faced with a smirking Miliband in front of the Union flag.  I nearly puked!

Alcoholism on the rise and no clue offered as to a remedy

One in eight deaths before retirement are related to alcohol.  This is a shocking figure and puts firmly into perspective the amount of despair and depression that clearly exists in our society.

Why politicians insist that raising the price of alcohol is the answer is simply down to their everlasting desire to avoid discussing real problems.  Their answer to too many things is to either bring in ore laws or raise taxation, all in the national interest of course.  Is there any evidence to show that raising the taxation on cigarettes has reduced the incidence of smoking?  No there is not!

Politicians choose their health priorities carefully.  Maybe it is time that Alcoholism moved up the queue.  There are no cuddly photo opportunities to take advantage of or clinical advances to claim credit for and the NHS is only a small part of the solution.  The improvement in the national wellbeing that will result from the investment will more than be worth the investment even for those closed minded souls who have to measure everything on a spread sheet.  The knock on costs of alcoholism are immense.

Child grooming scandals will continue to be exposed

For years Nationalists have been saying that the grooming of children for sexual exploitation has been taking place and for years we have been vilified for it.

The simple and sad conclusion that I draw from the coverage that I have seen so far is that nothing will change as a direct result of either the prosecutions or its resultant media coverage.

As paedophiles do the perpetrators will become more devious in their vile crimes.  Now that the fear of the ‘ethnic minority’ tag has been lifted from such investigations I am sure that the press will be featuring a list of similar cases to the Rochdale trials in forthcoming years.  This is welcome and long overdue but changes nothing.  To prevent reoccurrence of any problem the cause has to be addressed.  It has been reported widely that the child rapists are predominantly of Pakistani Muslim heritage.  Until that particular section of the community addresses the obvious questions that are raised about their values then the problem will never cease.

Relieved of Service

The results from last nights election for Barpool ward I have copied in below from the official elections website.  If you are curious as to any exact figures for other wards this is the best place to find them.

Candidate / Party	Votes
Gwynne Pomfrett Labour Party	815
Martyn Findley Independent	281
Hayden Walmsley Conservative Party	235
Alwyn Deacon British National Party	121

For the curious, yesterday’s Borough Council election was a Labour Party whitewash across almost the entire borough.  Shock of the night was the Green Party, with Keith Kondakor, winning in Weddington.  Weddington has been a strong Conservative ward since the arc first floated.  The only two seats that the Conservative party retained were Whitestone and St Nicholas Park.  In both cases the majority was way down on what you might expect.  Every other ward was won by the Labour Party!

For my part I am disappointed but not surprised.  Being active throughout the election period I detected the surge a while ago and to be honest I am very pleased to have come second on the night.  I have served the residents of Barpool ward as well as possible for four years and have no reservations in saying that.

The losers in Barpool ward on the night were the slow but constant stream of people who knock on my door because travelling or picking up the telephone incur a bill which they cannot afford.  Their two councillors live in Whitestone which, especially for the elderly amongst them, will be quite a walk.

I would like to thank family members for helping me on the streets throughout the campaign.  Residents for their kind words and encouragement because I can honestly say that I never encountered a harsh word throughout the campaign.  I cannot leave out the supporters from further afield who have encouraged via text/blogs/twitter etcetera.

My final paragraph I reserve for thanking the officers and employees of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council for their usual excellently ran election and on a personal note for the totally unbiased service that they have provided me with, sometimes I am sure in trying circumstances, throughout the past four years.