Abolish PCCs, say LabourList readers

The report into child sexual abuse in Rotherham released last week – which found that over 1,400 children had been sexually exploited over 16 years – has rightly raised questions over the kind of society in which we live. Not least, it has led to queries being raised about our system of accountability – resulting in  many, including the Labour Party, calling for Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)  for South Yorkshire, Shaun Wright, who was former a Labour councillor on Rotherham Council and head of children’s services between 2005-2010 at Rotherham Council, to stand down. Wright has subsequently refused to do so and has instead resigned from the Labour Party.

Amongst all of this, Labour said that if elected in 2015, they would consider abolishing PCC posts by 2016.

We wanted to know your thoughts, so we asked whether you thought PCCs should be abolished. An overwhelming majority of people (88%) answered yes while a mere 8% voted against the abolition of this contentious post. This left 4% who weren’t sure either way.

The swell of support for abolishing PCC is no surprise. The PCC post, created by the Tory-led coalition government, has never really been supported by the public. In 2012, fewer than 15% of people voted in the 41 PCC elections across the country.

Last week, Douglas Carswell – MP for Clacton – announced he was defecting from the Conservatives to join UKIP. This has prompted a by-election in the seaside which is set to take place on the 9th October. This is, incidentally, David Cameron’s birthday – the by-election could deliver Cameron a nasty present is Carswell steals the seat from the Tories and becomes first MP for Ukip.

While the back-and-forth between Ukip and the Tories goes on, we wanted to know what the effect of Carswell’s move was on Labour – after all the threat from Ukip isn’t just to the Conservatives. Most LabourList readers hedged their bets; while 11% said it was very positive for Labour, the majority (55%) were more cautious, in that they said Carswell’s decision was slightly positive for Labour. This is perhaps because although the decision draws attention to the Tories internal fractures on issues such as Europe (whereas in comparison Labour, after their summer of campaigning, are showing a united front) many are aware the the Ukip appeal isn’t limited to Tory party supporters.

On the other side of the fence, 16% thought it was slightly negative and 6% said it was very negative. This could be because it Carswell’s decision to move to Ukip, legitimises the anti-EU party and has the potential to underline an line Nigel ‘self-appointment man of the people’ Farage has been peddling for some time – that Ukip is a more representative than the three main political parties.

12% were left unsure as to how Carswell’s decision will impact Labour. Only time will tell.

Keeping the defection theme going, in the wake of Carswell’s move the usual speculation emerged in the political sphere: who would follow suit? Rumours about other potential Tory MPs who might follow in Carswell’s steps have sprung up, with some suggesting some Labour MPs might be tempted to jump ship too. In response to this, Austin Mitchell entered into the fray and said claims that Labour MPs would consider defecting to Ukip were ludicrous.

With this in mind, we asked LabourList readers what they thought. 75% agreed with Mitchell and said that they thought no MPs would line up under Farage’s anti-immigration banner. However, 13% one or two might – suggesting that some a worried about Ukip’s appeal.

Yet, only a small number of people thought any more than 1 or 2 MPs could move party (3% thought three to five MPs might join Ukip and 2% said more than five could). And 8% were left unsure.

690 answered in this week’s survey. Thankyou to all who took part.