If its Good Enough for Londoners its Good Enough for Us!

Policing is not a political matter it is a matter of democracy the policing in this country is well established as policing by consent. Police officers are civilians in uniform. However some police officers in their quasi military gear and uniforms appear to have moved away from that concept. The US may have “Batman Utility Belts” for its officers, however they do not have the fondness for  flack jacketed officers in day glow or black ninja suits our chief constables appear to be fond of kitting officers out in? I regularly see officers with their trousers tucked into their boots paratrooper style.

In London the Mayor (Boris Johnson) is also the  Chair of the Police Authority. I was to see my police headed by an elected person who will have a clear mandate to fight crime. A visibly democratically elected police chief  can achieve a balance between the Police Constabulary  (sorry service is to wishy washy a word for me), the home office; but more importantly local accountability to the people it is protecting. 

The policing priorities should be set jointly  by the people and the police. Senior officers and their operational decisions and priorities should be challenged and scrutinised by the people via their directly and democratically elected leader. I do not believe that the current Police Authorities are in Touch with the people that the current force serves. Elected councillors 9 in the case of Wiltshire Constabulary (Sorry like other services  forces it has recently changed its name to the more trendy one of Police) and 8 appointed independents including a magistrate, 17 in total.                                                                                                       http://www.wiltshire-pa.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_contact&view=category&catid=12&Itemid=59  I have been unable to vote directly for any of them to represent my views, thankfully all that is about to change.

I want a ferocious elected representative that will advocate for me a member of the public. I want to see them be compelled to engage with the public and to deal effectively with the public’s ”Satisfaction Level” of the police and allow the IPCC to get on with dealing with the most serious complaints.  The elected role is not about micro management of the police there are those already there doing it. The HMI should be allowed to inspect the police and report back to the elected “Boss”.  That is what they are skilled at;  inspecting the police so let them just get on with it.

Holding the head of the operational side of the police to account will be easier as the public will know who is responsible for doing it, as they will have elected that person. That is why I was concerned when I read of democratically elected members one Cllr Ford a member of the current police authority (who is appointed by the leader of the council to represent Swindon ) warning of the pitfall of having a directly democratically elected police commissioner/chief.  I thought as democratically elected councillors they would have welcomed a directly elected commissioner/chief constable.

That is  why I am possibly so  surprised by the statements   they have made about the changes to policing  here: http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/8302225.Police_changes_are_under_fire/   

Cllr Montaut must know that of 17 members on the authority which meets in Devizes Swindon has 3 members is he really trying to say that 3 Swindon Cllrs can influence 14 others?  I hope that he is right and Labour  will not become  politically involved, which can be achieved very easily if he and the Swindon Labour group who appear to agree with him will not support or put forward a Labour candidate. (I dont think he is indicating that  The Labour Party will not be putting up a candidate in Wiltshire in the article?)   The Conservatives and LibDems (who are now joined by a marriage of convenience) along with other parties will certainly do so.

Personally I hope that politics will be kept out of  policing  let the people decide and I hope they have an Independent elected as commissioner/chief constable. It could be very interesting.

Here is Geoff Reid’s view and as ever with Geoff he is quite thought provoking  http://www.geoffreid.com/?p=497 

6 Million Quid to be top of a search engine?

I think the government has taken leave of its common sense?  Organisations can pay search engines to ensure their websites appear at the top of users’ searches. They are often charged for each person who accesses their sites via the link.

Guess what? The Department of Health Spent £4.4 Million on this waste of money. I am sure that money could have been better used to  provide “post code lottery” drugs/care to someone who needed it!

Good article here from Ross Hawkins http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10805391

You couldn’t make it up.

Will Social Media Using, Blogging and Letter writing councillors find themselves in “the poop”?

The Standards Board for England in February 2010 issued a Quick Blogging Guide (QBG)  http://twurl.cc/35rh this is being discussed/considered at the standards board meeting. http://ww5.swindon.gov.uk/moderngov/ieAgenda.aspx?A=4671  As a councillor that blogs I am interested as it will have implications for any councillor using social media.

There is also a media guideline document with recommended changes. I have no link to that one. Again this is concerning the QBG and I think members should be aware will include letters and articles that are written to publications and newspapers. I have spoken to some other councillors on the matter, however they have not had sight of the documents so could not discuss it.

Freedom of speech is important  see a view from the getreading website, here is a quote “Councillors bloggers and social networkers will have to watch their posts and comments or they could find themselves “in the poop”.:

 http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2054372_blogging_code_for_councillors

I hope all Swindon councillors will be contributing to the discussion?

For Whom The Bell Tolls? Sould UK Public Services be Cut Back to Provide Public Services in Afghanistan?

For anyone who has heard the single bell toll from the church tower of St Bartholomew, Wootton Bassett. Not once but sometimes twice in one  week knows that another cortege of the dead returning from Afghanistan has begun. Known as repatriation, the first sign that this sad train of events is taking place is, for those living locally the sound of the “Black Tulip” the aircraft carrying the bodies of the service personnel flying low overhead as it approaches the town to begin its run into RAF Lyneham. After as the courtege passes by the people lining the streets to the sound of the bell. It is accompanied by  quiet muffled personal sounds of grief. There and  then a strong emotional charge that is felt by everyone. It sweeps over you, it is in your very being and washes  all around you. This primordial wave of sorrow and grief grips you and holds you there for what seems an eternity though in reality it is only seconds.

With that in mind it makes it very hard to speak out and question the war in Afghanistan, because we all support the service personnel and their families. It goes without saying that there is a strong warmth towards our men and women in the war zone. I fully support each and everyone of the service personnel in the war zone, and the families that have lost a loved one. I want to see better services for the veterans that will live with their experiences and memories and for some the injuries for years to come.  Their families and friends will continue to support them and I hope the nation will do so as well.

What we now need to have is the debate that is shied away from by politicians and people alike. How much is this war costing? It has been announced by the condem coalition today that spending is to be increased on providing schools etc and other aid to Afghanistan by 40%  some £500,000,000 yes 500 hundred million pounds.

• Is it right that our schools building programme and our public services are to be cut to provide such services to Afghanistan?
• Is it right to take our from our children’s  future well being to give it to those in Afghanistan?
• Should our public services be cut to provide services in Afghanistan?  
• Should taxpayers in this country pay taxes to provide public services in Afghanistan?

My view is no, I am yet to be convinced that we should be doing this as Liam Fox defence minister said in the times in June

“We are not in Afghanistan for the sake of the education policy in a broken, 13th-century country. We are there so the people of Britain and our global interests are not threatened”

Let us now have this debate now and let it be open and honest and not jingoistic or viewed by some as unpatriotic. Will the government come out and convince me or you? Why in my case is it failing to convince me? Here are some articles to ponder.

BBC  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10675583 

Newstatesman http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/05/13th-century-fox-afghanistan

Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7133539.ece

Yahoo http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100718/tuk-britain-to-boost-afghan-aid-spending-45dbed5.html

I am concerned that Afghanistan is becoming the 21st century road to integration? I am beginning to see this like the 20th century question for my generation, which was about European integration and maintaining the BAOR. That is why I am so troubled by this boost, however all this is an issue about the future. We should all become involved in scrutinising all the decisions made by our government about the continuing war in  Afghanistan including taking away our public services to provide them in Afghanistan.