tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10815380.post2136537872586505861..comments2024-03-14T12:42:51.995+00:00Comments on Chris Whiteside's Blog: Peter McCall re-elected with 53.5% of the voteChris Whitesidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02888720969479013951noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10815380.post-47040658348410351442021-05-12T20:43:45.210+01:002021-05-12T20:43:45.210+01:00I cannot see the argument that replacing the old P...I cannot see the argument that replacing the old Police Authorities, all of whom were either councillors, or were appointed by the Home Secretary, with a single elected official with the same powers was "politicising" the police.<br /><br />Could you name a single one of the seventeen members of the Police Authority, Jim? If you can you know more about it that 99% of our fellow residents did. <br /><br />I could have named four, and I would probably have recognised three of them if they walked into the room: the Chairman had served with me on Copeland BC, I know another councillor who served on it quite well, and one of the co-opted members was an assistant headmaster at the school of which I was a governor. I knew the name of the Deputy chairman because she followed me on Twitter.<br /><br />The thing is, the old police authorities were at least as political as the present Police and Crime Commissioners are, but it was much less transparent because nobody knew who on earth they were. So they could get away with being a lot more remote and a lot more political and it went under the radar. Chris Whitesidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02888720969479013951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10815380.post-85500450627408062362021-05-12T10:38:22.830+01:002021-05-12T10:38:22.830+01:00I really dont like this idea of politicising the p...I really dont like this idea of politicising the police. It spoke volumes when the turn out for the first election of PCCs was so low. I see they are trying to add legitimacy to this by mudding in PCC elections with other elections. The only way to abstain and not be counted in the turn out for one election is to not turn up thus not be able to vote in any of them.<br /><br />Where were peoples votes when county level police authories were abolished?Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00373005279697295131noreply@blogger.com