Rupi Dhanda brings in the big guns for Police and Crime Commissioner campaign launch

“There are always two ways of looking at it, Justjude. If it wasn't an ex-officer, people would say this person has no experience of policing, and so is a bad choice. When it is an ex-officer, they (you) say he is too close to the police, and is therefore a bad choice. One thing we can be sure of is that Surl is *not* so close to Labour as Rupi Dhanda, or to the Tories as Victoria Atkins. Or as close to whoever Alistair Cameron is backed by...

It's always a possibility, of course, that when Martin Surl says he will be all about giving us, the public, a voice, he's just saying what he thinks we want to hear, but I just think that at this point, the poll is going to happen, and we could do worse. Unless someone wants to start a serious campaign for vote withholding..?”

“I don't agree with having a PCC, a silly policy but like any election don't vote then don't criticize, if you are against the idea spoil ballot paper. martin Surl is a no go, have we learnt nothing if we are to have supervision of the police the last person we need is an ex police officer with his contacts and baggage. Over Steven Lawrence, news international, Hillsborough and now Orgreave what is clear is that we need independent supervision of the police. When they are under threat they group together and protect themselves from us their employers, we only need to look at the recent cases of ian tomlinson and the Swindon murders to see that we don't need a PCC but better scrutiny of the police and a police environment where officers don't feel they have to stick up for their mates. No to martin Surl”

“'Big guns'?

Ian Blair may have had a point about boycotting these elections, but a referendum was held for them, so maybe just boycott the politicians? Martin Surl might be an outside bet, but wouldn't we all just love the parties to get a bloody nose?”

“Leorche, politics and policing go hand in glove? Perhaps youd like to qualify that statement?”

“Politics and Policing go hand in glove.
Justice is a different thing.
Rupi gets my vote.”

“Wouldn't the salary of £65,000 + driver/car + pension + expenses + offices (total £100k+ ?) be better spent on POLICING?

If I was voting, would not for Mrs Dhanda, who clearly jumped on the bandwagon over the badger cull, no doubt the spin from her campaign office will be that she got it stopped.”

“Dear people of Gloucestershire, before you vote...

If you want a position of authority to be created, at great taxpayer expense, just to have that person flipflopping all over the place and chasing votes rather than getting down to the business of doing the job the police are supposed to then by all means vote. Politics in policing doesnt work and at this time of so-called austerity the last thing our public money should be spent on is yet more politicians and their expenses books!!!

Send a message in the easiest way possible - boycott the vote! If enough people do so then maybe those in Whitehall will understand that we have had enough of the creeping political interference in every aspect of our lives...”

“Pointless elections.”