Who's voting today in the Police Commissioner elections?

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Primrose
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I suspect there's is going to be such a low turnout that nobody will take the end result very seriously. Most of the people I've spoken to know hardly anything about it, and even less about the candidates they're being asked to vote for. I'm wondering how much money these elections are going to cost and whether it couldn't have been better spent on reducing the national debt.
vegpatchmum
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I popped along to the village polling station at 9amish, after dropping the girls at school. I was the only person other than officials there but then quite a few people have said they did a postal vote.

May very well be a big waste of money but I have the right to vote and so I voted! That way when the new Commissioner makes a balls up of local policing I have the right to complain about it :D

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glallotments
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I'm not voting but more to register a protest than because I am apathetic - usually I always vote.

I hadn't expected that the candidates would be affiliated to political parties. I wasn't convinced of the exercise to start with but had expected candidates to be non-affiliated and to have suitable background knowledge and experience to suit the job. As it is it just seems another well paid politician's job!

I don't know enough about what the commissioner's powers will be as the summary job description that I read hardly seems a full time job. I don't know enough about the candidates - they have been on local TV for a short piece where the questions that they were asked didn't really tease out any information on which to base a judgement. If I voted it would be a case of sticking a pin in a list and hoping - not a good basis for choosing is it?

I had a telephone call from one political party asking if I was going to/had used my postal vote and when I replied that i wasn't voting he didn't try to convince me - just seemed to accept that.

In my opinion it is a massive waste of money that could have been far better spent especially in this economic climate.
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Shallot Man
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Just came back from voting [1500 hrs] we were no:s 53 & 54 :(
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alan refail
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I side with the great majority - registering my protest by abstaining from a pointless exercise.
Cred air o bob deg a glywi, a thi a gei rywfaint bach o wir (hen ddihareb Gymraeg)
Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
vegpatchmum
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Ah but my point of view is that the money has already been spent and not voting wont make it 'unspent' so therefore I am going to have my say :)

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alan refail
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vegpatchmum wrote:Ah but my point of view is that the money has already been spent and not voting wont make it 'unspent' so therefore I am going to have my say :)

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Ah, but we've had no information about any of the North Wales candidates.
Richard Hibbs - Independent
Colm McCabe - Conservatives
Tal Michael - Labour
Warwick Nicholson - UKIP
Winston Roddick - Independent
They have sent no leaflets, so how do we vote? Never heard of a single one of them.
Cred air o bob deg a glywi, a thi a gei rywfaint bach o wir (hen ddihareb Gymraeg)
Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
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oldherbaceous
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At least they shouldn't have to call extra staff in for counting the votes. :)

I didn't vote either, as i know nothing about the candidates.
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vegpatchmum
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alan refail wrote:
Ah, but we've had no information about any of the North Wales candidates.
Richard Hibbs - Independent
Colm McCabe - Conservatives
Tal Michael - Labour
Warwick Nicholson - UKIP
Winston Roddick - Independent
They have sent no leaflets, so how do we vote? Never heard of a single one of them.


That'll be the difference then - we've had hand delivered circulars, local news articles and post from various parties about their particular candidates over the last few months :D Made everything as clear as muck (that would be the muck they were each throwing at the other candidates of course :)) but made me even more determined to have my say.

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glallotments
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vegpatchmum wrote:That'll be the difference then - we've had hand delivered circulars, local news articles and post from various parties about their particular candidates over the last few months :D Made everything as clear as muck (that would be the muck they were each throwing at the other candidates of course :)) but made me even more determined to have my say.

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No leaflets or anything here either - voting with no information is akin to pulling a name out of a hat and what use is that?

Also a poor turnout should send the message that the population don't approve of the exercise. I know this has been the point made in some of the media.
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Primrose
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I think the powers that be will end will egg all over their faces over this issue and it will be interesting to see how they talk themselves out of it.
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Geoff
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We voted - 6th and 7th at 9:15 after opening at 7:00.
We had no candidate leaflets, just the pink one telling us to look them up on the web site.
Never had a candidate for any election knock on our door but I suppose we have only been here 27 years. Often said I would vote for anybody who called even if I didn't agree with them (assuming Jehovah's Witnesses don't stand in elections, they find us).
Must admit voted out of habit rather than understanding it all. Seems pointless; if it's political why not just appoint a crony as usual without the expense, if it's non-political I'm not sure I would want anybody who was motivated enough to bother could be very one issue people.
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My daughter and son-in-law in Bedford are voting today, otherwise there is a danger the BNP candidate may get in!
Monika
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I voted (two candidates, one from each of the main parties - would have liked at least an independent to stand!) on the premise that me not voting won't make this ridiculous process undone. My OH didn't vote, on principle and as a protest.
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Sadly the successful candidates will be on salaries most of us can but dream of. :shock:
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