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John Prescott to stand for police commissioner post John Prescott to stand for police commissioner post
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Lord Prescott has become the fifth former Labour minister to declare an intention to stand in the first elections for 41 police and crime commissioners across England and Wales. Lord Prescott has become the fifth former Labour minister to declare an intention to stand in the first elections for police and crime commissioners in England and Wales.
His declaration came in a week when Falklands war veteran, Simon Weston, announced his intention to stand as an independent against former Labour Home Office minister Alun Michael for the £100,000-a-year job overseeing the South Wales police. Prescott told the Hull Daily Mail he would spend the next few months touring Humberside and consulting the public before drafting the manifesto he would use to campaign for the £75,000 a year job.
Also this week the Iraq war veteran and Conservative candidate for Kent commissioner, Colonel Tim Collins, ignited a row with the Police Federation by claiming he would only need to do the job part-time. "Now others might see it differently – those that are desperate for work – but the reality is that we've got a very effective chief constable who has got a great team around him. They can do the policing," said Col Collins. "What we need is someone who can listen to the public and interface with them." The former deputy prime minister said that his fight to secure an apology from the Metropolitan police and News International over the failure to investigate illegal phone hacking by the News of the World had stirred his belief that the police should be more accountable and open.
Collins has said he wants the police to be "ratcatchers, not social workers" and has warned that the elected commissioner's job was not one for "sunset councillors or retired police officers with an axe to grind". "I feel that, after proudly serving as a local MP for 40 years and a cabinet minister for 10 years, I have the experience to listen to the public and help be their strong voice in supporting the police and holding them to account," Prescott said.
The Kent police federation said it was nonsense to suggest that the oversight role of the police, currently undertaken by a 16-strong police authority, could be carried out part-time. Earlier this week the Falklands war veteran Simon Weston announced his intention to stand against the former Labour Home Office minister Alun Michael for the £100,000-a-year job overseeing the south Wales police.
Lord Prescott, aged 73, told the Hull Daily Mail that he would spend the next few months touring Humberside and consulting the public before he drafted the manifesto he would use to stand for the post which attracts a £75,000 salary overseeing the small Humberside force. Also this week, Colonel Tim Collins, an Iraq veteran and Conservative candidate for the Kent police commissioner post, ignited a row with the Police Federation when he said he would only need to do the job part-time.
The veteran Labour peer said that his fight to secure an apology from the Metropolitan police and News International over the failure to investigate illegal phone hacking by the News of the World had stirred his belief that there should be greater transparency and accountability of the police. "Now, others might see it differently – those that are desperate for work – but the reality is that we've got a very effective chief constable who has got a great team around him, Collins said. "They can do the policing. What we need is someone who can listen to the public and interface with them."
"I feel that after proudly serving as a local MP for 40 years and a cabinet minister for 10 years, I have the experience to listen to the public and help be their strong voice in supporting the police and holding them to account," he told the Hull Daily Mail. Collins has said he wants the police to be "ratcatchers, not social workers", and warned that the commissioner's job was not one for "sunset councillors or retired police officers with an axe to grind".
This flurry of activity has led policing experts to believe that despite predictions of a dire turnout when they are held on November 15, the novel elections may yet take off. The Kent Police Federation said it was nonsense to suggest that the oversight role of the police, currently undertaken by a 16-strong police authority, could be carried out part-time.
The five former Labour ministers who have expressed an interest in standing include Peter Kilfoyle and Jane Kennedy in Merseyside, Tony Lloyd in Manchester, and Alun Michael in South Wales. Michael's son, Tal, a police authority chief executive, has declared his intention to stand in north Wales making it a father and son challenge. The flurry of activity has led policing experts to believe that, despite predictions of a dire turnout on 15 November, the elections for the 41 available posts could still take off.
There are also increasing numbers of independents expressing an interest, as well as Simon Weston, which raises the possibility that the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru may go ahead with plans not to stand in areas where there is a credible non-party political candidate. The five former Labour ministers who have expressed an interest in standing include Peter Kilfoyle and Jane Kennedy in Merseyside, Tony Lloyd in Manchester and Alun Michael in south Wales.
Two ex-police officers turned novelists are poised to enter the North Yorkshire contest. G P Taylor, writer, ordained priest and ex-police officer, whose Shadowmancer and Wormwood novels have sold more than 475,000 copies, and Mike Pannett, who has chronicled the life of a rural beat officer, are considering fighting it out for the North Yorkshire job. Among other former police officers, Keith Hellawell, the ex-Whitehall "drugs tsar" in West Yorkshire, and Ray Mallon in Cleveland have said they want to stand. Michael's son, Tal, a police authority chief executive, has declared his intention to stand in north Wales.
Jon Collins, deputy director of the Police Foundation, which is tracking candidates, said it was encouraging that more people, including independents, were emerging and it was important there were high-calibre candidates on the ballot in every area. Increasing numbers of independent candidates, including Weston, are expressing an interest, raising the possibility that the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru may go ahead with plans not to stand in areas where there is a credible non-party candidate.
"The first police and crime commissioners are standing for election at a challenging time for the police and it is important that candidates and parties begin their preparation early, developing their knowledge of local policing issues and key community priorities as soon as possible," said Collins. Jon Collins, the deputy director of the Police Foundation, which is tracking candidates, said it was encouraging that more people, including independents, were emerging.
"There are still some forces – like Suffolk, Surrey and Thames Valley – where there are no confirmed candidates and while there is still plenty of time until the election, the sooner that candidates come forward the more time they will have to develop their knowledge of local issues." "The first police and crime commissioners are standing for election at a challenging time for the police and it is important that candidates and parties begin their preparation early, developing their knowledge of local policing issues and key community priorities as soon as possible," he said.
Blair Gibbs of the Policy Exchange thinktank, which campaigned for the commissioners, welcomed the entry of heavyweight candidates and predicted that many more would declare after the local elections in May. "There are still some forces – like Suffolk, Surrey and Thames Valley – where there are no confirmed candidates and, while there is still plenty of time until the election, the sooner that candidates come forward, the more time they will have to develop their knowledge of local issues."
"Policing would benefit if there were more credible independents standing – like Simon Weston – and fewer full-time councillors. Being a competent chair of a deceased police authority is not a good enough CV to be an effective police and crime commissioner. There is still time for business figures and voluntary sector leaders to throw their hat into the ring. This new generation of police leaders ought to look very different." Blair Gibbs, of the Policy Exchange thinktank, which campaigned for the commissioners, welcomed the entry of heavyweight candidates and predicted that many more would declare after the local elections in May.
"Policing would benefit if there were more credible independents standing – like Simon Weston – and fewer full-time councillors," he said. There is still time for business figures and voluntary sector leaders to throw their hat into the ring. This new generation of police leaders ought to look very different."