Weekly survey: Crime commissioners, Douglas Carswell and Labour defections

The role of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) has been in the news lately, with the low turnout at the recent West Midlands by-election and the Rotherham abuse scandal becoming focussed on the refusal to quit by the South Yorkshire PCC Shaun Wright.

LabourList reported this weekend that Labour are planning to abolish PCCs after the election next year. Should the role be discontinued? Or is there just a better way of making them work?

The defection of Douglas Carswell from the Tories to UKIP has sparked a by-election in Clacton, with Carswell likely to retain his seat and give UKIP their first elected MP.

But how will his defection affect Labour? Will it help us in the long-term by damaging Cameron? Or will this by-election expose how susceptible we are to the UKIP threat?

Senior UKIP figures have spent the last week claiming that as well as Carswell, there are more Conservative and even Labour MPs considering joining the anti-EU party.

Do you think that there is a chance of any Labour MPs jumping ship before next May? If so, how many? Let us know what you think.

Our weekly survey will be open until noon on Thursday and can be taken here.