PCC Elections
Just got back from spoiling my ballot paper, following carefully the instructions* provided by 
spiralsheep.
I don't particularly object to the PCCs themselves, accepting the argument that senior police officers have been playing politics without accountability for pretty much as long as there have been senior police officers. However I do strongly object to the barriers that were placed in the way of candidates making their positions known to the electorate. I actually visited the official website where it was clear that the candidates in my area had been told they only had 500 words in which to state their case. Oddly enough they were all hoping to minimize the impact of budget cuts on policing (a non-policy since I can't imagine any candidate seriously putting forward a policy of maximizing the impact of budget cuts on policing).
While there are evils associated with unregulated campaigning, at 500 words it seems people have little choice except to vote according to party ideology which is, I believe, the opposite of the stated intention of these elections.
*There seems something terribly British and middle-class about needing instructions for spoiling a ballot paper.
This entry was originally posted at http://purplecat.dreamwidth.org/80776.html.
spiralsheep.
I don't particularly object to the PCCs themselves, accepting the argument that senior police officers have been playing politics without accountability for pretty much as long as there have been senior police officers. However I do strongly object to the barriers that were placed in the way of candidates making their positions known to the electorate. I actually visited the official website where it was clear that the candidates in my area had been told they only had 500 words in which to state their case. Oddly enough they were all hoping to minimize the impact of budget cuts on policing (a non-policy since I can't imagine any candidate seriously putting forward a policy of maximizing the impact of budget cuts on policing).
While there are evils associated with unregulated campaigning, at 500 words it seems people have little choice except to vote according to party ideology which is, I believe, the opposite of the stated intention of these elections.
*There seems something terribly British and middle-class about needing instructions for spoiling a ballot paper.
This entry was originally posted at http://purplecat.dreamwidth.org/80776.html.