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Police and Crime Commissioners: 7 questions for ‘independent’ candidates

February 19, 2012 9:30 am

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I am concerned that we may be beginning to see the emergence of a stealth Government strategy to ensure it has its supporters, masquerading as independents, in place as the new Police & Crime Commissioners? This is an issue that Paul Richards has already highlighted on these pages (see here) a few days ago.

We know that the Liberal Democrats have decided (so far) not to run a central selection and campaign and have said “Individual Liberal Democrats may support non-party candidates. This is a continuation of the view that Liberal Democrats in government and parliament have been expressing as the legislation has gone through Westminster: that whilst effective accountability of the police is essential, it is imperative that operational policing does not become a political football” (Tim Farron quoted here). This party line was repeated by Baroness Kramer on BBC Question Time on Thursday last.

Meanwhile the Conservative Party have been decidedly muted on the whole issue and the idea of open public primaries appears to have shifted off their agenda. While they are ostensibly still looking for candidates (apply here if you wish!), I am beginning to wonder if they may too defer in favour of ‘independent’ candidates.  Michael Crick says on his blog “Ministers expressed the hope that the PCC jobs would attract famous individuals with impressive track records, people who had excelled in fields outside politics – local celebrities and people of stature, rather than just party hacks” when discussing the possible candidature of Simon Weston for the South Wales PCC.

Putting the irony aside that a Government that created these political posts may not want party politicians elected to become PCCs, I am wondering if the Government parties are slowly and stealthily seeking to have place men & women become the PCCs? I have no palpable evidence for this, but what do people think? Would this be a strategy they might adopt?

And so in addition to my questions for PCC candidates that the Guardian published a couple of weeks ago (see here) and the points raised by Paul in his earlier article, I have been mulling on some questions that Labour candidates might pose any independent candidates they will be running against:

1.       Are you or have you ever been a member of a political party? How did you vote in the last general and council elections?

2.       What affiliations (if any) do you hold? For example, do you belong to any clubs, associations, campaigning organisations or secret societies? Which ones?

3.       As you are standing on an independent ticket, are you able to give an assurance that if you ever choose to belong to or campaign for a political party, that you will immediately resign as a candidate (or PCC if you are elected)?

4.       What values and principles (as opposed to the specific policies in your manifesto) will guide you in the decisions you will be taking as a PCC, if you are elected?

5.       What would you say are your strongest views?

6.       Have you ever run for political office as an independent before? If not, why not? If so, what & why?

7.       Assuming that you are very wary of party politicians running the police, what other public services do you think party politicians should not be running either? What are your reasons for this?

What other questions would you ask?

Related posts:

  1. Is there a thin blue line for the new Police and Crime Commissioners?
  2. Police Crime Commissioners – what might be in their manifestos?
  3. We need to start campaigning now for the Police Crime Commissioners
  4. Labour must view the election of police commissioners as an opportunity
  5. The Trade Union role in Police and Crime Commissioner elections in November
  • capt appllo

    It should not just be independents answering questions, all wishing  to become PCC’s should, however i do object to some of your questions.

    1) Are you or have you ever been a member of a political party? This is fine, any party affiliation should be known by the electorate.
    How did you vote in the last general and council elections? No ones business, we are supposed to operate the secret ballot in this country and a persons vote is between them and the ballot box.

    2) What affiliations (if any) do you hold? For example, do you belong to
    any clubs, associations, campaigning organisations or secret societies?
    Which ones? Perfectly reasonable question i would also add do you contribute regularly to any newspapers or blogs etc.

    3) As you are standing on an independent ticket, are you able to give an
    assurance that if you ever choose to belong to or campaign for a
    political party, that you will immediately resign as a candidate (or PCC
    if you are elected)? As it should be i’d also add the caveat of campaigning for bodies affiliated to political parties.

    4)   What values and principles (as opposed to the specific policies in
    your manifesto) will guide you in the decisions you will be taking as a
    PCC, if you are elected? This is somewhat nebulous, values, principles and policies should be a part of the manifesto.

    5) What would you say are your strongest views? really? this is a question for a PCC candidate and is irrelevant, I’d suggest “will you keep any personal strongly held views separate from your professional responsibilities if elected even if they are in conflict?”

    6) Have you ever run for political office as an independent before? If not, why not? If so, what & why? again poorly worded, ” Have you ever run for political office before? if so when and where” is far better.

    7) Irrelevant it is the PCC role they are applying to get elected to.

    The questions in the article above seem not to attempting to ask not if an independent is independent but more do they have the “correct” views of the party political machines and their mouthpieces in the papers.

  • jaime taurosangastre candelas

    This is really odd:  an un-evidenced worry about and suspicion of independent candidates, to be followed by a line of questioning that Senator McCarthy would be proud to ask.

    Maybe the independents might turn around and ask any prospective police commissioners campaigning under the Labour banner some questions about databases, control orders and detention over extended periods.  That should keep John Prescott quiet.  

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  • John Reid

     sorry Jaime ,I disagree ,I think this Is A inportant issue of Independence ,i’d add The following Have you ever been a police officer,A  member of the Ipcc ,the PCC or A police authority,or in assciated with the CPS or the federation Have you ever been a memeber of An Independent police monitroing group that’s funded by council or lottery funding or any charites set up o show interst in Minority ethnic people and the police, regarding the database control order, thsi brings in tehreal danger of elected Police chiefs, the Public don’t realsie that the Chief won’t have the power to say to the Chief consatble, I want you to deal with the Peado’s and the Asylum seekers, rather than crack down on Terrorism as for every 1000 stop and search you only arrest one person, what’s popualr might not be what really those in the know have to devote their time too.

    • http://twitter.com/Ian4PCC Ian4PCC

      The great thing about this journey of (now) 18 questions is that you well funded political organisations and journalists get us answering your questions and if you are not satisified you’ll find another one until we finally give the wrong answer and then you’ll proudly state – see told you we parties were the safest bet. For the record John I have never been part of any of those organisations. So what next?

  • http://twitter.com/Ian4PCC Ian4PCC

    Hi Jon

    As one of the few candidates willing to answer the 10 questions in your Guardian article and the first to publish the answers on his website, I am happy to continue the tradition.

    One assumes the next set of questions will be 5 and then when we get to one question only it will be such a wicked question that I get a prize for even attempting it. For those not familiar with my work, I am the Independent PCC candidate for Sussex, my website is http://www.ian4pcc.com

    1) I am not nor have I ever been a member of a political party, I won’t answer the second part of your question unless you can give me certainty that all parties and candidates will apply the same test to their voting patterns including where tactical voting has taken place.
     
    2) I don’t hold any affiliations apart from church related ones. I would like to make the time to be affiliated to some sports clubs. I am certainly not a member of any secret societies (perhaps you can tell me what’s on offer?).
     
    3) I will give you an assurance that whilst serving in the role of PCC that I would not join or campaign for any political party.
     
    4) I don’t have a personal values statement prepared, however words such as honesty, perseverance, integrity, loyalty come to mind. Perhaps I can answer that when the Labour party publishes such statements about its candidates (be interesting to see it done retrospectively with some of your recently deselected MPs!).
     
    5) Probably my strongest view is the need to resolve injustice – what is yours Jon?
     
    6) I have never run for political office before, in part because the party system does not welcome dissenting voices, in part because the spatial element has not been a good fit. I seriously considered standing in 2009 as an Independent MEP but concluded that the opportunity to really effect change was not compelling enough.

    7) I would like to see a greater diversity of voices and views in all of our political environments to be honest. I spent 6 years in the South East England Regional Assembly where I chaired the social and environmental stakeholders. There was something very creative about a context when seemingly opposing views based on robust data as well as passion (eg environmentalists and the CBI) was honed into commonly held positions (usually crushed by tribal decision making from party politicians of the three largest parties). On occasions we even managed to influence the party members in their thinking.

    However the PCC and its relationship to a politically dominated PCP is the first occasion in my adult life that I have seen as such a stark case where party political influence is inappropriate. This is in part because of the sensitivities around policing and partly because it rides roughshod over the heritage of the Police Authorities with their strong independent voices. If a similar governance model was applied to health or Fire and Rescue I would be equally convinced. I think a reformed revising chamber (ie House of Lords) is one where a dominance of party politics could do the nation a huge disservice.

    What other questions would you ask?

    The public is strongly suspicious of tribal party politics, and even some of your party grandees do not think the police should be politicised (vis Lord Prescott on Question Time) with a similar view amongst both Lib Dems and Conservatives. Why then have you taken such an old fashioned tribal response to this election? It sounds like two political legs are good and four Independent legs are bad, yet more than ever most of society errs towards four legs. I have an identifiable level of support amongst both Lib Dems and Conservatives which is equal to that from Labour, yet it is only Labour that is telling me that they cannot be seen to support my candidacy. When as a party are you going to grow up and understand what you are missing?

  • Jon Harvey

    Thanks for all the comments – to respond to a few points (fairly randomly):

    - I believe in transparency and honesty. There are many councillors who stand and are elected as ‘independents’ who not only have strong political allegiances but indeed are card carrying members of political parties. I don’t want the same thing to happen with PCCs. I also worry that someone with racist views could stand as an independent and get elected, for example.

    - I do not ask any questions that I would not be prepared to answer myself.

    - This article is all about avoiding tribal politics playing a part in the election of PCCs without the electorate fully understanding that this is the case. All these questions could be asked of all candidates whether they are standing on a party ticket or not. I have absolutely nothing against independent candidates standing – the elections will beneft from the extra choice that will give the electorate - but see my first point re honesty and transparency

    - Why would a political party support an independent candidate unless they thought that candidate supports their policies?

    - Nobody is obliged to answer any of these questions of course – including the one about how people voted in the last election.

  • http://www.regonline.co.uk/e-plan Richard Hibbs

    OK I get it now.  These are more like ’7 rhetorical questions’ than ’7 real questions’, so maybe not so crucial to try and answer them. 
     
    Although I can’t resist having a go at no 7 which I think does illustrate the issue quite well.   Because having lived in Wales for past 18 years I can definitely conceive of a parallel universe in which party politicians don’t run the NHS or the education system any more …
     
    Paul Richards makes a good case for the contribution that the party system has made to creating a stable and mature democracy, but I don’t think he quite realises how strange a constitutional experiment the government have embarked on with PCCs.  OK it’s politics - but not as we know it.

    Being independent is only problematic if the context requires you to build effective coalitions with other fiercely independent individuals – witness the problems on Anglesey where local democracy has just been suspended by the Welsh Government for another 12 months until the 5 unelected Commissioners (there’s that word again) appointed last year finally succeed in sorting the council out.

    The point about PCCs is that they will have bigger democratic mandates than any other type of politician, they don’t have to worry about building political coalitions with anyone else to exercise their powers, they will effectively have personal tax-raising powers from day 1, and they might therefore actually get something done!

    If it’s not politics as we know it, then what exactly is it?  How about a cautious step towards provincial government?  With more, perhaps much more, to follow (see above for example!).
     
    Richard Hibbs
    Independent candidate for Police & Crime Commissioner in North Wales

  • Pilchard

    “2.       What affiliations (if any) do you hold? For example, do you
    belong to any clubs, associations, campaigning organisations or secret
    societies? Which ones?”

    I’m assuming they would want to keep membership of any secret societies…well…a secret.

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