The Grantham Journal says...
In only six days’ time, the people of Lincolnshire will be asked to vote for a candidate running for the role of police and crime commissioner.
By now, each and every household in England and Wales should have received a leaflet distributed by the Electoral Commission, giving details about the elections and what the police and crime commissioners, who will replace the role of police authorities, will be expected to do.
Yet we asked our friends and followers on social networking sites this week whether they feel they have enough information to be able to make an informed decision before they head out to vote on November 15.
Dozens responded. What did the majority say? No. And many said they had not received a single piece of literature about the elections.
This is rather concerning given that the commissioners will be responsible for setting policing priorities, setting the police budget and the policing precept, and monitoring the performance of the force.
There are four candidates running for police and crime commissioner in Lincolnshire, each with very different views and different policies. If the county’s residents do not know who they are or what they stand for, how can they make an informed decision on who to vote for? They can’t.
So while the Grantham Journal has done its bit to inform people of the upcoming elections and the candidates standing for it, more clearly needs to be done. But is it now too late? No.
If you care about the future of policing in Grantham and the wider area, turn out on Thursday and vote. Turn to page 28 to read up on each candidate and what they stand for.
As our columnist David Burling writes on the opposite page, “the handling of this election has been shambolic from start to finish” but a low turn-out of people will have a negative impact moving forward.
And as Jacob Stuart writes below right: “We owe it to ourselves to find out what they stand for, what they aim to do and go vote for whoever we feel will do the best job for Grantham and Lincolnshire as a whole”.
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Weather for Grantham
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 10 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
