Independent Wins Election to become Lincolnshire's First Police and Crime Commissioner

Alan Hardwick, Independent (Lincolnshire), a former television presenter and public relations officer for the Police Authority, was sworn in to office yesterday following his victory in the election to the new post of Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

With turnout plummeting to new depths across the country, Lincolnshire managed a turnout of 15.28%, slightly above the national average. West Lindsey had the highest turnout from the seven districts of the county with 17.72%.

The Count took place at seven locations across Lincolnshire. West Lindsey's count was undertaken at the West Lindsey Leisure Centre in Gainsborough and began at nine o'clock.  By half past nine it was clear the turnout was going to be low. By ten o'clock the first part of the count process, verification, was complete and increasingly bored count staff had to wait patiently until one o'clock for other centres to complete their verifications before the counting of ballots count begin.

At one o'clock the counting of the first preference votes began and shortly before three o'clock it was clear that no candidate had recieved more than fifty per cent of the vote and could be elected:

• David Bowles (Independent) 27,345 (32.66%)
• Richard Davies (Conservative) 19,872 (23.73%)
• Paul Gleeson (Labour) 10,247 (12.24%)
• Alan Hardwick (Independent) 26,272 (31.37%)

Richard Davies and Paul Gleeson were eliminated and David Bowles and Alan Hardwick went through to the final round.

The counting of the eliminated candidate's second preferences votes took less than an hour, 9,429 were not vaild second preference votes and shortly before six o'clock the result was announced.

Mr.Hardwick recieved 12,949 (62.59%) additional votes whilst Mr. Bowles recieved 7,741 (37.41%). The result was:

• David Bowles (Independent) 35,086 (47.22%%)
• Alan Hardwick (Independent) 39,221 (52.78%) Elected

PCC2012: 'Independent's' Entire Campaign Team Resigns

A candidate campaigning to become one Lincolnshire's new first elected Police and Crime Commissioner has being secretly backed by American lobbyists and companies pushing for police privatisation, The Sunday Telegraph has revealed.

Mr. Mervyn Barrett has been producing expensive leaflets, free DVDs and full-page newspaper adverts in his bid to be elected as next month.

Unusually for a rural, local election, Mr. Barrett has employed professional campaign staff, commissioned weekly opinion polls, opened 'field offices' and is driven in a chauffeured Mercedes, the paper alledges. He has poured tens of thousands of pounds into the elections, far more than any other candidate anywhere else in Britain.

Mr. Barrett describes himself as an 'Independent', who is opposed to 'party politics' in policing. He has pointedly refused to disclose who is funding him, despite widespread local suspicions generated by the intensity and professionalism of his campaign.

At a hustings event held in Boston Mr. Barrett's campaign is described as having 'fallen apart at the seams' when he was not able to develop a 'coherent, cogent argument, let alone find the ability to string three sentences together'. He also was set upon at the hustings by those present for advocating 'cannabis coffee shops' as a part of his drugs policy. Mr. Barrett's professional campaign manager Mr. De Ungar Brown swore numerous times, despite being requested to desist.

The entire campaign team resigned on Saturday, within hours of being contacted by The Sunday Telegraph. Responding to the loss of his campaign team and the article by the paper Mr. Barrett said in a statement:

"I now wish to take time to reflect on both the reaction to the Telegraph article and also to consider how best I could continue my campaign following the resignation of my Campaign Director and Campaign team. I also wish to consult with my legal advisers regarding a number of inaccuracies that the original article contained.

"I will be making no further comment at this stage; however I will be holding a full press conference on Wednesday, 24^th October."

The Sunday Telegraph suggested that his campaign has been run by a team from a US-based neo-conservative think tank, the Fund for the New American Century, funded in part by a variety of corporate donors with an interest in public-sector privatisation.

The papers's investigation of Mr Barrett’s campaign website reveals that it is registered to a New York and Washington-based 'political action committee', MatthewPAC, part of The Fund for the New American Century, whose website says it is 'dedicated to building America’s future by supporting candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation'.

The Sunday Telegraph reports it has established that Mr.De Unger Brown, Mr Barrett’s 'special adviser', campaign manager and press spokesman until yesterday, is Chairman of the Fund for the New American Century. Commenting to the newspaper Mr. De Unger Brown said:

"We support Republican candidates. It is a centre-Right organisation.

"I don’t think that neo-con would be an unfair description."

Mr. David Bowles, standing for the Lincolnshire Independent's Party, commented to the paper:

"It is a very slick campaign but it appears that Mervyn is no more than a puppet.

"Every time I have tried to contact him, the response has always come back from Matthew and every time I’ve tried to meet him it’s been Matthew I’ve met instead."

Mr. Bowles claimed that last week Mr. De Unger Brown asked to meet him to discuss the possibility of an electoral deal, with Mr Barrett becoming his deputy, the paper reported.

Conservative candidate Richard Davies, who is front-runner to be Lincolnshire's first Police and Crime Commissioner, said:

"I think he has come into Lincolnshire to try to run a big presidential style political campaign and that does not really work here."

Under Electoral Commission rules independent candidates do not have to reveal their source of donations until ninety days after the ballot. Its guidelines state candidates are able to accept contributions only from 'certain mainly UK-based sources'.

PCC2012: Conservatives Choose County's Police and Crime Commissioner Candidate

The candidates for the post of the newly created office of Police and Crime Commissioner for the Lincolnshire force area have become clearer following the Conservatives' selection of their candidate.

Members of the Conservative Party from across Lincolnshire came together at a closed primary to select a final candidate after several months of scrutiny of nineteen individuals who put themselves forward for the role.

Cllr. Richard Davies

Cllr. Richard Davies, Conservative (Grantham North West Division, LCC), has been selected as his party's candidate. As a member of Lincolnshire Police Authority Cllr. Davies is well placed to fulfil the demands of the role of Police and Crime Commissioner for the County. Richard says:

"Having been born and raised in Lincolnshire I understand the negative impact crime and anti-social behaviour has on hard working families across our county. I believe my no-nonsense approach will help prevent crime, reduce people’s fear of lawlessness and offer the public genuine reassurance about the way their communities are policed. That is why I am seeking the Conservative Party nomination for Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire."

Cllr. Davies is the front runner in this contest, he should confidently retain his deposit (£5,000 - lost if polls below 5%) and could easily win on the first choice votes (the system used for the election of these posts is the Supplementary Voting System).

Cllr. Phil Dilks, Labour (Deeping St. James Ward, SKDC), is a former journalist. He served eight years on Lincolnshire County Council up to the 2009 local elections when he was kicked off the authority by local voters. He served on Lincolnshire Police Authority during his time as a county councillor. He is a GMB Trade Unionist.

Cllr. Dilks secured his seat on South Kesteven District Council in a postponed election last year, however there was criticism as Cllr. Dilks gave himself no party description. Despite being a Labour Party member and former Labour councillor and Labour press officer. He now sits as a member of the Labour group on the council. He is expected to retain his deposit.

Other candidates at this stage to have emerged are former Chief Executive of Lincolnshire County Council Mr. David Bowles, Independent. The voting system favouring established parties expect him to loose his deposit.

Mr. Mervyn Barrett OBE, Independent has come forward as well and has a background of over 30 years experience of the criminal justice and crime prevention fields - for which he received his OBE in 1999. Perhaps the more serious of the two independent campaigns. He may retain his deposit if he does significantly better than Mr. Bowles.

Finally, for the moment, Cllr. Elliot Fountain, English Democrats (Fenside Ward, BBC) has put his hat into the ring. Expect him to loose his deposit.