Comments for Brighton Politics Blog

Comment on Vote for the independent Ian Chisnall in Thursday’s Police and Crime Commissioner election by steampunk

steampunk — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 14:57:53 +0000

I voted for Katy Bourne and the Brighton Politics Blog ended. Coincidence? I think not.

Comment on Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner – the protest vote should go to the Independent candidate, Ian Chisnall by michael coughtrey

michael coughtrey — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:12:17 +0000

It would seem someone stitched up the electors. All the information regarding the Commissioner replacing the Sussex Police Authority, thus saving a bob or two, was a big fib. (see Brighton Scandal’).

Comment on Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner – the protest vote should go to the Independent candidate, Ian Chisnall by Paul Perrin (@pperrin)

Paul Perrin (@pperrin) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:22:37 +0000

Tis very, very quiet here..

I know UKIP are on the up – but didn’t realise the other parties had already disappeared!!

Comment on Vote for the independent Ian Chisnall in Thursday’s Police and Crime Commissioner election by ianchisnall

ianchisnall — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:28:54 +0000

Hi Clive, at one level the Independents could easily be simply patsys but Sussex unlike other areas has a track record of including properly Independent members of the Police Authority in the past and the two Independents chosen for the PCP are people I personally would fully support. One is a member of staff from Victim Support and the other is someone who previously worked for I think the Audit Commission. I know both of them and the Conservative Chair is also someone of great integrity. However the system is badly inbalanced, in my view because when it was being established everyone believed the Govt who at that point were stating that the PCC would be Independent of Party Politics. Otherwise this really is a conspiracy to control the Police. I still subscribe to the cock up camp, but perhaps that is just naivety.

Comment on Vote for the independent Ian Chisnall in Thursday’s Police and Crime Commissioner election by Clive

Clive — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:25:52 +0000

All interesting stuff, Ian – I didn’t know too much about these PCPs (Police and Crime Panels). http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/police-crime-commissioners/partners/police-and-crime-panels/

So the independents are co-opted – all a bit ‘tap on shoulder’, it would seem. I wonder how independent they will be? Will you get asked, I wonder?

Comment on Vote for the independent Ian Chisnall in Thursday’s Police and Crime Commissioner election by ianchisnall

ianchisnall — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 09:03:31 +0000

Clive, I share your concern about the Tsar model. However we were never consulted about the PCC model (unless someone is bringing up 2010 manifestos). The challenge is to work with what we get presented with by those we elect to laud it over us (at local as well as national level). My view was (and still is) that a good person could make the PCC concept work really well and as you suggest a dud will leave us all vulnerable. Based on all of the feedback I have received from the Tory selection process, even party members wanted a none of the above box. The use of political parties and their machines in the election almost guaranteed a Conservative coronation (even Labour were only after a second position (something I nearly denied them). Unless the PCP is changed to enable more Independent voices (10% is not enough IMO) I would imagine that Katy and the 12 Conservative members (60%) of the PCP along with a Conservative Home Secretary will ensure that any wild idea that they can dream up will be adopted without any real opposition until 2016.

Comment on Vote for the independent Ian Chisnall in Thursday’s Police and Crime Commissioner election by Clive

Clive — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:34:34 +0000

I take your point, though one would hope that any public official or body would want to do a good job without being directly elected (and direct elections won’t necessarily ensure that they do a good job).

My point is that the concentration of power in one person’s hands is almost always a bad idea, whether that’s police commissioners or ‘superheads’ of academies. If you get a dud, in terms of their competency or trustworthiness, you are truly stuffed: there are no checks and balances.

It springs from the notion that committees and group decision are synonymous with shuffling inaction and fudge. The cry goes up that we need is a ‘Tsar’ – and I still can’t believe that term is used without irony. Jimmy Savile being put in charge of Broadmoor is the most obscene example of this.

Comment on Vote for the independent Ian Chisnall in Thursday’s Police and Crime Commissioner election by Dr Faust

Dr Faust — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 22:23:47 +0000

Of course I was speaking largely tongue in cheek about Green Party supporters voting Tory – but the fact remains that a Labour victory in Sussex would have been problematic for them – another Tory they can live with. Some echos of 2010 – delight at the Pavilion result, and made even better by Labour defeat across the City, even if that meant more Tory MP’s.

If most Green Party supporters spoilt their papers as you suggest then their support must be far less then recently. Spoilt papers accounted for only 3.06%.

Comment on Vote for the independent Ian Chisnall in Thursday’s Police and Crime Commissioner election by Paul Perrin (@pperrin)

Paul Perrin (@pperrin) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:25:24 +0000

What practical incentive did police authorities have to please me?

Comment on Vote for the independent Ian Chisnall in Thursday’s Police and Crime Commissioner election by ianchisnall

ianchisnall — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:45:46 +0000

I will focus on building up from my 21% base to actually win in 2016 in that case if the Green objective is to come in behind UKIP!