General Chat

That's so sad John.

Please kerep them coming Ann. It pleases you and absolutely thrills me. ;-) ;-)

Paula - you'll no doubt be pleased to know that I reported that slur on my character and GR have upheld my complaint and removed the posting - back of the net again!!!!! :-D

Ken One of my pet topics, but note that there is a current thread running about car insurance.

It is a scandal and yet another example of price comparison sites forcing up our premiums. Anything like drifting over the speed limit gives a good excuse to whack up premiums and force us to look elsewhere and donate (indirectly) to a price comparison and switch site. Leeches :-( :-( :-( They suck money out of car insurance companies and they have to suck our blood in turn :-(

Going a bit off topic but relevant to some recent posts. Some insurance companies are ignoring speed awareness courses i.e. treating them as convictions.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20328860

Spoilt papers is said to be over 4% in one area. The Spoilt-Papers Party could overtake the Lib Dems and come fourth in the next General Election ;-) :-D

Unlike the Lib Dems, they should retain their deposit

:-D :-D Lynda

they're too busy working out how to fiddle their expenses and what to spend the money on ;-)

If only the would be Police Commissioners had joined GR they could have got lots of info as how to make us vote for them, they missed a trick there :-D

@ AnnC. I am clean but not yet squeaky :-D

never had a parking ticket KenSE and as you say, it's not a criminal offence, even if Traffic wardens treat it as such :-D

the speeding record is removed if you successfully complete the speed awareness course - so no record of that - I am squeaky clean ;-)

Parking fines are not criminal offences are they?

I believe the candidate disqualifications are where the offences would have merited a prison sentence if committed by an adult.

Oh, Merlin. I am in same boat as Paula+. I had a parking ticket issued in Northampton when I was helping to move in my undergrad daughter to her student house in 2001. So you will not be able to help me in the next round of PCC elections in 4 years.

Are you clean? I would support you. And I think my local sparring partner in S Wales might also join your campaign :-D Brains and beauty ;-)

snap Paula - I've been on that speed awareness course :-D

@ Mouonthecoast.... Thats me out of the ruuning then. I have had two speeding tickets in the last two years, and been on a speed awareness course. No parking fines though I am a good girl I am ;-) ;-) ;-)

Rose You ask how it will all work. What I would do.

Well, first, I would spend a long time consulting. Not easy, because candidates for PCC have held meetings and between none and four have turmed up. Perhaps offer drinks and canapes out of my huge new salary to entice them in.

Second I would draw out on a blank sheet of paper what resourcing (police, police support, buildings, firearms etc) local people want.

Third, I would cost this out to see if it came within budget constraints. If it didn't, I would go back and do a quick consultancy with a sample of the public to see where the "cloth" could be cut.

If it did come within budget (and budgets seem quite generous), I would hand the resource requirement to Chief Constable and get the opinions of him and his senior team. Much of his present profile would hopefully match mine, but some wouldn't.

Action plan with all the necessary recruitment, redundancies, re-training, job sharing etc. Look for funding outside of budget for one off short term initiatives like focus on crime problem areas, computer and systems upgrades, purchase of vehicles and amortisation of buildings suitable for new police stations etc etc.

Don,t hold your breath,I,d much prefer the SAS.Sergeant who is in prison for having a "Glock" presentation gun.

Paula+ Think I agree with everything you have said. I don't think it is any coincidence that we had 3 by-elections and a Bristol Mayoral election on the same day and percentages were lousy in all of them.

There is a point here that needs exploring. If someone has been found guilty of fiddling expenses (whether or not they have paid it back) they should be ineligible for office for the rest of their life, surely. AnnC has made the point about Simon Weston, the Falklands veteran who was keen to run for PCC. What Weston did in his teens seems far less than our Secretary of State for Wales who put dog food on her expenses (greedy bitch!!!). And many of the successful candidates in these elections have done far worse than feeding their greedy bitches at our expense.

Merlin A question I have asked myself as well. Watch this space :-D :-D One vote I know I cannot count on in 4 years time, but think I will take the other 673,408 (if I can get them out). ;-)

Quite agree with all you say Paula. :-)

I also read that even if you had a parking fine from as long ago as 1970s you couldn't stand for PCC position.....but greedy ****** mps can fgs. :-S......I despair :-|

In my opinion this has been a complete farce from beginning to end. The organisation and management of the campaign was unprofessional and a shambling joke. There was no proper structure or content to any form of canvassing. There were regular “countdowns” to voting day on local TV, but no basic information to back them up. Regardless of what people might say, not everyone has access to a computer, and not everyone has mobility or the ability to gain information easily. With the size of the budget I would have expected more. I saw the new PCC for my area for the first time on TV last night. It showed him canvassing in the streets yesterday obviously meeting and greeting shaking hands with people he already knew, and having lunch at his daughters house. What was that all about for goodness sake?
Now the pundits are having a post-mortem as to why people did not vote. Perhaps they need to reflect on the the wider picture. Maybe it's a warning that many voters far from being apathetic, idle, uninterested or unconcerned (or whatever negative adjective you want to choose) with what is going on in the Country. People are disillusioned with all political parties and fed up of hearing the same old rhetoric and petty arguments and point scoring. Let us hope that lessons have been learned and the complacent attitude from all parties will take heed and wake up and smell the coffee.

AnnC I have just re read all of these threads and I must say sometimes the comments are rude and totally unjustified. I am reminded of my Father who said When they start throwing mud its a sign they are losing the argument. ;-)