IT HAS been a long campaign for Essex Police Commissioner candidate, Val Morris-Cook. With a full time job to hold down and a position as deputy leader of Thurrock Council, it has been demanding but like everything, Val looks at the opportunity and not the problem.
With the election tomorrow, Val spent time after the remembrance service in Grays to reflect on the campaign and the issues that have concerned her.
A full list of candidates can be found on our crime page.
The PCC should be a totally independent non political position, it would seem that VMC is certainly using this campaign as a lever for the Labour Party if the publication that came through my door which had the strapline about not trusting the Tories with crime, it also went on to give Labour Party policies in the document.
Labour have a policy on crime, incredible. What is it, hug a terrorist, foreign criminals can be fun too.
Maybe I am in the minority but am just out to cast my vote,one thing for sure it will not be for any of the political parties candidates.VMC for one is way out of her depth.
There is one stand out canditate who will be getting my vote.
Cast mine this morning at approx 07:30, was the first one in there sine they opened at 07:00, something tells me the turnout will be very small…….
Voted at 3.45 I was the 55th thru the door,turn out will be abysmal on that basis.
Just seen the return fro the first PCC in Wiltshire, turnout was a paltry 15.8%, the winner went through with 7% of the 15%, this is where the current democratic voting system fails, it was also the same for a couple of by-elections last night where the turnout was just over 20%
People are either no longer bothered or have no faith in anything political……..
10.2% turnout for Thurrock !!!! and the winner is ?
And this is democracy in action……I am in no way surprised with this low turnout as the local publicity around the candidates has been next to nothing so many people do not even know who was standing or what the job actually entails.
Essex saw 171,617 which is 13.06% ……………..
I can fully under
stand why so many people failed to vote yesterday however a lot of our people have given and are now even in Afghanistan giving their lives to ensure we all have right to vote, which is why although having misgivings on the process was determined to vote.
It may sound melodramatic but felt I owed it to those who made the ultimate scrifice.
Well said PERMAN….
Perman, I wouldn’t disagree with that sentiment if we were voting for the local council or the Government of the UK. However, it’s a bit over the top for this election. What next? Voting for who empties the bins? I tend to believe the Police work best when left to get on with their job and only suffer with too much interference from politicians. Also, is it right that, in these testing times, we add another layer of bureaucracy onto the police force at even more expense to the taxpayer? I think the turnout speaks for itself, the vast majority just weren’t interested in this.
Why is it “over the top”we are voting for a commissioner to oversee policing in the County which to me is not a trivial matter.We are all affected by crime in one way or another be it anti-social domestic violence etc etc,anyone you speak to in the street are unhappy with policing in the borough this was their chance of a voice which may help to change the way we are policed.
To say I didn’t receive literature to me is a cop out (sorry about the pun) information was available on the internet if people took the trouble to look,yes literature should have been made available but if u are genuinly interested in policing surely a quick search on Google isn’t too much to ask?
I have always believed if given the opportunty to vote you should excercise that right, short of joining a political party it’s your next best option to bring change.
PERMAN, a commissioner won’t make the slightest difference to policing in the county. Most of the commissioners will probably be either ex or failed politicians with no real idea on how policing works. It is not a cop out to blame lack of literature, not at all. It shouldn’t be my job to actively seek out information on who to vote for. The respective candidates should actively pursue my vote and that means, at the very least, a leaflet or two. If the information is online then I want a mail shot telling me where to look or I want articles in the local printed press telling where to go for all the information. You can’t have a democracy without freely available information, you can’t vote blind.
As for voting being a chance to bring change in the country, when was the last time that was true? Voting for Labour or Conservative these days is just voting for more of the same. ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old Boss’ as Roger Daltrey once sang, sums it up nicely.
gray64 maybe that’s the problem with this country people want to be spoon fed,I can’t believe you want a mailshot to tell you where to look on the internet for information come on get real.
If you have an alternative way of bringing change other than through the ballot box please let me know.The only way you bring about peaceful change is tby using your vote if 90% for instance of the electorate bothered to vote then change is possible,if 90% as in Thurrock stay indoors nothing changes.
We have a demcratic sytem flawed in some ways yes butIi would rather live in a democracy than a dictatorship.
Allowing someone to hold a position with the active support of less than one in 20 people might be pushing at the limits of the definition of democracy, though.
PERMAN, too right I want a mailshot telling where to get info on the web! Like I said, it’s not up to me to have to hunt down information on somebody that wants my vote. It’s not about being spoon fed either, engaging with the electorate means just that, it doesn’t mean sitting on your arse and expecting people to vote for you just because you stand for a particular party or cause.
I have no alternative to the ballot box, but for democracy to really work at least two things have to happen. Firstly, there has to be real differences between the parties, clear dividing lines that everybody can see and that everybody can make a choice on. Secondly, manifesto pledges should become legally binding if you win. Give people genuine choices, choices that mean that the vote they cast can really change things and you will see better turn outs. At the moment we have dross and people don’t tend to be engaged by dross.
I think we can both agree on one thing, as you say there has to be choice between the parties. I am in no way happy with the political situation at the moment, not one of the political classes really engages with the electorate indeed I have been sorely tempted not to vote in local and national elections, butIi have been given a vote and therefore choose to use it.