Boundary Changes
I was pleased to see that the Boundary Commission for Wales has published revised proposals for Parliamentary boundary changes in the Caerphilly area.
Observer readers may recall that the initial plans linked Caerphilly town with Cardiff North. I submitted an objection because there is nothing in common between the leafy suburbs of the capital city and the valleys. They are simply so different and, of course, there was a rather large obstacle in-between – Caerphilly Mountain. It was a bad proposal for Cardiff North and a bad proposal for Caerphilly and I submitted objections.
So the latest proposals are more sensible – linking the lower Caerphilly Basin area with the southern part of the Islwyn constituency, where there are much closer ties. And, of course, all the wards in the new constituency are served by Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Whether these proposals happen in time for the 2015 General Election is another thing. We’ll have to see what happens up in Westminster.
Police Commissioner
I’ve decided to support Ian Johnston, one of the Independent candidates in the Gwent Police Commissioner elections on November 15.
Ian is a former Chief Superintendent in Gwent and I know him from my time on the Gwent Police Authority, as well as when I was leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Personally, I have concerns about the involvement of party politicians in these Commission roles. It is best suited to someone with first-hand experience and knowledge of the police.
Ian not only worked for Gwent Police but when he left the force took a post with the Police Superintendents’ Association, so also has that wider experience.
I believe a strong Independent candidate with that vital police background would deliver best for Gwent.
As a party Plaid did not believe there was any need for Police Commissioners but the UK Coalition Government decided to press ahead. Every force area will have a Police Commissioner, so I urge people to have their say and vote.
Commissioners will be making massive decisions for our communities in Gwent, tackling issues such as anti-social behaviour, which plagues many areas and drug dealing.
Lindsay Whittle
Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales East
Now the a Plaid Cymru AM has declared support for the Police and Crime Commissioner role, in Gwent, for Ian Johnston, a tired, and, spent ex senior police officer, who did very little to effect the changes he is now proposing to inflict upon Gwent Police if he is elected, I predict it is not the support he needs to get himself elected.
Mr Whittle goes on about the time he was a member of the Gwent Police Authority, ( Now to be abolished) I must say that if he and his Police Board Colleagues, and Mr Ian Johnston who served that committee as a very senior police officer at the time, had done a better job of public engagement, and of involving the public in all the issues of policing which effect them and their communities, and dealt with policing issues in a less sycophantic, back slapping political way, often doing the bidding of local politicians, then we may not be having this debate and the election of Police and Crime Commissioners at all.
2 points:
On the Parliamentary boundaries. Caerphilly may not be linked with Cardiff North but the Islwyn constituency is cut into 4 parts and Bargoed is now in a seat which includes Merthyr and the lower Cynon Valley. Let's not forget that the whole process is about gerrymandering the boundaries to help the tories at the next election. I hope Plaid will not help them when it comes to the Parliamentary votes on these boundaries.
On the PCC elections. It's a pitty that Lindsay is not following the good example of Plaid's Dafydd Ellis-Thomas and supporting the Labour candidate, Hamish Sandison. We really don't want a former Police Officer running the Police. Both the so-called Independents were really good Policemen before they retired but we really need someone as a PCC who can bring to the position a broad experience and a clear set of Labour values.
Wayne David supports Hamish Sandison, the Labour candidate, I don't see how he could do otherwise in his job. Lindsay Whittle supports Ian Johnston, an independent. I am pretty sure that if Plaid Cymru had fielded a candidate Lindsay would have supported him or her.
This is not the position for most people, who do not belong to a party. They want the best candidate out of the four to be in charge of Gwent Police. One of the key attributes for many voters is whether the successful candidate is going to devote all their working time to the job? I have previously mentioned this in Caerphilly Observer but have no qualms about asking this once more; Are you, Ian, Hamish, Christopher and Nick, as candidates for this post, going to treat it as a full time appointment and relinquish all other work during your term of office?
I know that many men and women have two or more part-time jobs but the Police Commissioner is a full time role. I also know of a few men and women who have two high profile jobs but have yet to see a single one of them make a success of their work. This is a new job,and an important one. I want to see a Commissioner that is single minded, without distractions that may well impinge on how he performs in his role.
The whole Police Commisioner idea is a nonsense, one man cant replace the wisdom and caution of the old Gwent Police Authority.Its politicising the Police at the best, or opening it up to extremists at the worst. The former Met commisioner Ian Blair is advocating a boycott and according to a report in the Guardian an unnamed senior Welsh politician says she sees no other option but to spoil her ballot.
Regarding electoral boundary changes, some of my family came from north Cardiff a century ago and I still have realtions and friends there, but they are different from us, not better or worse, but different, and it made no sense to link Caerphilly with Cardiff, but then it was a Tory ideaand the record of this Tory Government shows they havent had a good one since they`ve been in office.
So an "unamed" politician is possibly going to spoil their vote and feels strongly enough to gush to the Guardian, bit not strongly enough to do her job and speak up in public; doesn't inspire confidence in her.
One or other of these candidates will become Gwent Polce Commissioner. To spoil your ballot or not vote will only serve to let in the candidate you may think is least suitable.
On the boundary change subject this is just a bit of Gerrymandering, the Tories are fed up with the current borders. Academic anyway as the proposed change, Caerffili partof Cardiff North, will not take place
No, if you have the right to vote, you also have the right not to vote. If you think this elected Police Commisioner idea is a load of nonsense and politicising policing, you either boycott, as, I believe, Plaid and the Lib Dems are doing, or you spoil your ballot paper and write none of the above, but the latter will then be counted amongst those who are reckoned to have voted, so the best answer is to boycott.