Police commissioners - did you vote?

[Dave2002]

I usually vote on issues, and even looked up the details of our candidates. I had fairly much decided who to vote for.

On the day I was busy and then I forgot! Ouch.

Maybe it won't make much difference anyway. I suspect I was by no means the only one.

I'll be interested to see if a lot of party candidates were elected, or if many of the winners are independent.

PS: Blast - can't spell "commissioners" - maybe the heading can be fixed. Sorry!
PPS: Odd - doesn't seem possible to delete this first posting - with the option of creating a new version with an amended heading. Is this a feature of this MB? I have deleted some messages in other threads, so why can't I now?
PPPS: Thanks to the person who changed my original spelling "commisioners" in the heading to what it is now.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I wasn't sure whether or not to vote. I think it's a crazy idea to politicise the police, but...

And then I too forgot.


As for correcting the heading, only the Host or Administrator for the particular thread can help - French Frank in the case of Platform 3.

[eighthobstruction]

I did not vote on purpose....

[teamsaint]

Wiltshire doesnt seem to be a democracy.

Edit...somebody lit the fire with the polling cards.

[Pianorak]

I didn't vote on purpose because I am in two minds about this, but primarily because there was no way of getting any information about any of the candidates. There weren't any leaflets, nobody seemed to canvass - nobody seemed to care.

[Flay]

Ditto, I abstained by staying away. There was no information, and I do not want this crazy idea to take on. What a ridiculous waste of money!

[ardcarp]

There should perhaps be a fixed percentage of turnout (say 25%?) below which a democratic election result is invalid. I wonder how long the government/future governments will stick with this American-style 'police commissioner' idea before they admit it is a huge mistake/cock-up/folly/irrelevance?

[ahinton]

I didn't vote because I too forgot - but at least I remembered to forget! I believe that this farce is not only a waste of public money but also an utterly pointless waste of time; it is also clear that the sheer absence of anything that could realistically be described as campaigning has further undermined the entire exercise to the point of near-irrelevance and, by so doing, has already risked backfiring on the particular political masters who hatched the idea in the first place.

[Mary Chambers]

I didn't vote, for much the same reasons as the rest of you. I thought about it quite a lot, and came to the conclusion that it was all rather silly. I looked up the candidates online, but am very aware that most people wouldn't bother, and in any case many people, particularly the more vulnerable, are not able to do this. If I had voted, it would have been for an independent candidate.

I feel a bit guilty, I confess. I wouldn't dream of not voting in a parliamentary election. It was a sort of protest. Perhaps it would have been better to scrawl my objections on the voting paper.

[AuntyKezia]

My polling station is only two steps from my home, so I went along, but only so that I could "scrawl my objections on the voting paper", as Mary puts it.

[Flosshilde]

No - because Scotland won't have them. We will have a single force for the whole country, which I think is an equally silly idea.

The Guardian had a photograph of Cameron delivering leaflets in Bristol for the Tory candidate. As he'd specifically ruled out the government funding leaflets for each candidate the Tory party must have funded them, which is rather unfair (to put it mildly) on small parties & independent candidates.

[ahinton]

The Guardian had a photograph of Cameron delivering leaflets in Bristol for the Tory candidate. As he'd specifically ruled out the government funding leaflets for each candidate the Tory party must have funded them, which is rather unfair (to put it mildly) on small parties & independent candidates.

I do hope that you are not suggesting that Tory party funds were used to pay Mr Cameron to distribute those leaflets in Bristol! Perhaps Wikileaks could confirm or deny (or maybe they'd rather not make Assange and dance about it). Apologies (if any are needed) for dragging two other current thread topics into this one; at least the Tory party haven't paid me to do so...

I'll get me coat - oh, no, I won't - someone's nicked it; should I - er - call the police?...

[MrGongGong]

So, like many others, mine was a "spoilt paper"
totally meaningless waste on money that those objecting should have refused to go along with ............

[french frank]

There should perhaps be a fixed percentage of turnout (say 25%?) below which a democratic election result is invalid. I wonder how long the government/future governments will stick with this American-style 'police commissioner' idea before they admit it is a huge mistake/cock-up/folly/irrelevance?

In Bristol we were also voting for our first mayor - last May a massive 14%(?) of the electorate voted in favour of having one and, as usual, the result was decided by the non-voters (the vote was held in the one year when we had no other elections so hardly anyone remembered.)

It meant that most of the parties included the PCC candidate details on their mayoral leaflets. I voted for an independent as first choice in both polls. Somehow she (PCC candidate) managed to get a leaflet delivered.

[MrGongGong]

It meant that most of the parties included the PCC candidate details on their mayoral leaflets. I voted for an independent as first choice in both polls. Somehow she (PCC candidate) managed to get a leaflet delivered.

But why add credibility to a load of nonsense ?