Voters go to the polls to elect Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner
Voters across the county will go to the polls today to elect Gloucestershire's first ever Police and Crime Commissioner.
Four candidates are standing for the £65,000 a year role, which will aim to cut crime and deliver an effective and efficient police force.
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Candidates Martin Surl Rupi Dhanda Victoria Atkins and Alistair Cameron
The successfully applicant will be responsible for holding the chief constable to account for the delivery of the force, setting and updating a police and crime plan and setting the force budget and precept.
Victoria Atkins (Conservative), Alistair Cameron (Lib Dem), Rupi Dhanda (Labour) and Martin Surl (Independent) are all bidding for the job.
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Commentators predict the election could see a small turn out of voters.
Many have criticised the lack of information available to the public about the election and candidates.
Dr Richard Long and his wife Jan went to vote at Bromesberrow Village Hall. She said after chatting to the men running the polling station, the number of voters had only just got into double figures after midday - despite the public being allowed to vote from 7am.
Polls open until 10pm and the ballot papers will give voters an opportunity to vote for their first and second choice candidates.
The first preferences are counted, and if a candidate has received more than 50 per cent of the votes cast they are elected.
If no candidate has more than half of the vote, all candidates apart from those in the first and second place are eliminated.
As long as you mark one cross in the first choice column, it will be counted.
Votes will be counted tomorrow with the result being declared in Stroud.
Comments
by zalapompadoo
Thursday, November 15 2012, 2:52PM
“martin surl has the same breed of dog as me”
by RWT1203
Thursday, November 15 2012, 1:34PM
“NibNobs - Martin Surl is an ex Police Officer, an ex Chief Superintendent at that, but how does this make him qualified to hold the Chief Constable to account? What makes any of these candidates qualified to hold the Chief Constable to account?”
by NibNobs
Thursday, November 15 2012, 12:35PM
“I voted for Martin Surl:
Martin is the only NON-POLITICAL candidate, an independent candidate not from the usual them & us 'finger pointing' political stock, the only ex-police officer, the only candidate who had the 'bottle to stand in the town centre (WITHOUT a film crew to comment on badgers) unlike one particular candidate who from articles in The Citizen clearly thinks the job covers only the Barton & Tredworth area.”
by geraint2010
Thursday, November 15 2012, 12:10PM
“The prospect of a lawyer (be it the Tory or Labour candidate) with no experience of policing yet with the power to hire and fire the Chief Constable at will, could make his job intolerable, and is something I find rather frightening. We are hardly adept at handing on to Chief Constables here in Gloucestershire as it is are we?
Yes there is an independent candidate but whether he was a good cop, bad cop or just another journeyman I have no idea. I am thoroughly opposed to these new political appointments being foisted upon us and the only way I seem able to voice my disquiet is to not vote.”
by Hubert1841
Thursday, November 15 2012, 12:01PM
“Well said, Lecorche.”
by honslknjklyt
Thursday, November 15 2012, 11:41AM
“I wonder if we will end up with a partnership? ha ha!
First past the post should mean exactly that but it doesn't. The one who gets the most votes should be the one who gets in. It is simple and the only time that can go wrong is if there are two that get exactly the same amount of votes each above the rest.
It is a farce. We ended up with a coalition because it is not really first past the post, it is win by a certain majority.
This does not happen in a race, if someone goes over the line first, they are the winner - simple. In these elections it is if they are over the line by a certain amount in comparison to someone else behind! The olympics would have to have their calculators set aside to do a recount"!”
by Douglasknows
Thursday, November 15 2012, 11:28AM
“It wouldn't be so bad if the newly appointed £65k wage was replacing the equal amount elsewhere and not on top of it!”
by honslknjklyt
Thursday, November 15 2012, 11:27AM
“I am not going to vote at all. My papers or whatever went in the bin on the day that it came.”
by Lecorche
Thursday, November 15 2012, 10:28AM
“I can understand your frustration,Scorpio.
"None of the Above",as a choice, should be on every ballot form and be counted.
You have to realise that every aspect of our society and lives is based on Politics.
i.e. Whatever we are or will be or will have is controlled by Politicians.
They call it Democracy,although we rarely see it in a pure form.
At least getting the chance to vote for a Commissioner (given to us by politicians) is a small step nearer a fairer society.
This is why I'll be voting in the prescribed manner.”
by Scorpio2010
Thursday, November 15 2012, 8:45AM
“Just been to the Polling Station. The results should be interesting. I was the fourth to vote and my neighbour was next. We both deliberately spoiled our ballot papers as a protest. I am not an anarchist but I feel strongly that Politics should be left out of Policing. Even if I had voted for the independent candidate I would have been giving credibility to something I don't agree with.
I would encourage like minded people to do the same.”