Government advisor on Policing


There is not a day goes by without some story of how policing in the UK is going wrong, and the government are always seeking answers. I came across something today that will answer all their problems. They just need to hire this policeman as their advisor, and do away with all the expensive police commissioners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F1HqiUeKpyg

a 'laughing stock'

According to the Government, Police and crime commissioners have the job of ‘bringing communities closer to the police, building confidence in the system and restoring trust’, but in reality it has just brought the independent Police Forces of the UK into political control.

They were brought in across England and Wales in November 2012 by the Conservatives to set budgets and decide on strategies while also holding chief constables to account.

But lack of enthusiasm for the reform meant the polls were held with little publicity, and a record low 15 per cent of voters turned out, that has resulted in some very unsatisfactory appointments

At the time of the election for Kent Crime Commissioner the turnout was so low for the poll, that Mrs Ann Barnes was elected with a total of 114,137votes from a registered electorate of 1,281,968.

Most people were uninterested, and were of a mind that this whole process was a waste of money, but Cameron, once again pressed ahead with his pet plan, and once again showed total disregard of the wishes of the people whom he was elected to represent.

Last night police officers branded the Kent Crime Commissioner a 'laughing stock' following an 'embarrassing' Channel 4 documentary about her job.

Viewers reacted with fury to last night's Meet The Police Commissioner programme in which Ann Barnes, elected crime chief for Kent, struggled to explain her £85,000-a-year taxpayer-funded role.

The documentary showed Mrs Barnes travelling in a van she dubs 'Ann Force 1', having difficulty explaining an approach to policing priorities.

In the sequence, Mrs Barnes is shown in front of a flipchart on which is a hand-drawn diagram of concentric circles. Mrs Barnes explains that "These are all the various things, different kinds of policing, OK, in Kent," waving a hand in a circular motion around the circles. "And these are the different kinds of policing priorities, in terms of priority."

When asked by the interviewer What would be a crime on the outside of the diagram, she replies “Oh God, no idea, I can't tell you actually, I mean I wasn't thinking I was going to talk about the onion as we call it. Erm, oh, I don't know really”

When further questioned about her role as Police Commissioner  she says, “Well, it's a strange job this, it's a strange role, there's actually no job description at all."

Looking at the expressions on the faces of senior police officers sat in meetings being chaired by this woman was embarrasing. Who thought putting a retired teacher with zero experience in policing, in charge of policing resources and budgets was a good idea? She spoke to her Chief a Constable as though he was a naughty little child.

Mrs Barnes was elected as the first PCC in Kent in November 2012 despite previously branding the Government's plan to increase police accountability a 'wilful waste of money'.

She became the most high-profile of the country’s 41 crime tsars a year ago when The Mail on Sunday revealed her £15,000 youth commissioner, Paris Brown, 17, had posted a series of highly offensive comments online.

Mrs Barnes is an 'embarrassment' to Kent Police, and should have stuck to teaching or was that beyond her too?

The face of a haunted leader 

Poor old Clegg looking worn out and red eyed. So what! He has brought this on himself with his self serving arrogance and "I know best" attitude.
Pressure is on Nick Clegg to quit as Lib Dem leader after the party’s wipeout in the European elections.

Following a catastrophic night, which cost him all but one of his MEPs, he was forced to admit he had lost the argument over Europe.

In an emotional interview, the Deputy Prime Minister said being beaten into fifth place by the Greens had been ‘gutting and heartbreaking’

As the leader of a political party he should get back to some fundamentals.

As individuals we cannot all turn up in the house of commons to argue our case. There are not enough chairs for a start. So we choose a representative to present our case for us. If enough people have the same view then laws are passed and society changes. This is called representative government. Laws come from the people up, not from the government down (most of europe is the latter).

Nick you forgot this. Your job is to represent the peoples' wishes not to reject them or espouse your ideas. The people do not wish to be in a european superstate so you must stop harping on about your beliefs.

They are irrelevant. Reflect the views of the people.
As someone once said. "Think not of what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" I think all the LibLabCon politicians need to think on that one.

It's time for politicians to listen

After local elections in the UK David Cameron admits his party must deliver some "answers" after UKIP's election "earthquake" shakes politics.

The Prime Minister conceded his party had to start delivering on immigration and welfare reform, and said the public had become "frustrated" with the status quo. There is no group of people more frustrated than those expats living in Europe who are denied the vote.

It is time that politicians in the UK started listening to the people instead of forcing through their doctrine policies.

Ed Miliband defended the party's campaign and said “people were turning to UKIP to express their discontent with the way the country is run”. “ people feeling that the country just does not work for them and so what you are seeing in some parts of the country is people turning to UKIP as an expression of that discontent and that desire for change."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg admitted the party had had a bad night but said: "Actually I think in the areas where we have MPs where we have good organisation on the ground ... we are actually doing well."

THEY STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND. The electorate want politicians working for them.

UK politicians are looked upon as pariahs. They have lied continuously, they have flouted their positions and ignored the wishes of the electorate, and finally they were caught with their hands in the till. No wonder Brits are disenchanted with British politics,

And that explains the rise and rise of Nigel Farage and his anti EU party. Or is it just in the UK that voters are disenchanted with Europe

A recent poll is the latest evidence that voters in France and across the continent perceive the EU as remote and unaccountable, which is expected to boost support for far-right, anti-EU parties in countries such as France, Britain, the Netherlands and Hungary.

A mere 18 percent of the 1,048 people questioned late last month said they were “confident” about the future of the European Union, with just 2 percent claiming to be “enthusiastic”.

 Only 51 percent of French still want their country to belong to the 28-nation bloc. That was down from 67 percent a decade ago, according to the CSA survey for BFMTV news channel.

The CSA poll showed that voters - 70 percent of them - are disillusioned with the European Union because of its failure to help stem rising unemployment in France, which has a record 3.3 million people out of work.

Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said they were disappointed with the EU because of the decline of social protection, while 60 percent cited growing numbers of immigrants as another reason for falling out of love with the European project masterminded by France and Germany.

France’s far-right Front National, led by Marine Le Pen, is tipped to spearhead a surge by populist parties across Europe in the vote for the EU's only directly elected body.

Polls show that the anti-immigrant French party is in pole position alongside the mainstream centre-right UMP, with President François Hollande's ruling Socialists trailing in third place. 

This looks all too familiar in the UK.

In the same way that UKIP are frightening the mainstream party’s in the UK, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Front party is poised to win a double-digit percentage of France’s 74 seats in the 751-member Parliament.

Do expats care? Of course they do

Being disenfranchised back home has left expats starving to participate in the democratic process, but for British expats in France the stakes are also uniquely personal.  Apart from the local elections, the EU elections are the only election some expats are allowed to vote in.

I'm British, I live outside the UK and I've done so for more than 15 years. Accordingly, the British government very unfairly denies me, and people like me, the right to vote in parliamentary elections,

Expats are free to live and work in France as long as they like without any special authorization from the government, and for that they are denied the vote.

Most of those same expats however are obliged to pay their taxes to the UK government. One without the other is WRONG!

government of the people

John Moir, 47, admitted driving whilst disqualified at Ipswich Magistrates' Court

It is the 44th time he has broken a ban, but he was not sent to prison

In 2010 he ran down Simon Jacobs, 46, but the serial criminal, whose recklessness on the roads left his victims in a coma, was given only 18 months, and served only half. It is an absolute insult. 

Moir, also a convicted thief, has previously said that nothing will stop him driving while disqualified, For his latest offence he received a suspended sentence.

Is there anyone reading this who doesn't think it’s a sick joke, and that he should have been punished?

Karen Armitage, a lesbian mother-of-one pocketed almost £50,000 in benefits by claiming she was an unemployed single parent despite being in a civil partnership with another woman.

Karen Armitage, 42, even tried to claim her partner, Micheala Axall, was actually her mum when the seven-year deception came to light.

Despite the years of deception Armitage avoided jail term because the judge felt she was not 'a danger to society

Another sick joke you would say, and most people would argue that she should have been punished.

Miller FINALLY resigns after expenses row. The Prime Minister has stubbornly stood by her for almost a week, but finally conceded defeat after Culture Secretary resigned

The Prime Minister was forced to admit he had underestimated the depth of ‘raw’ public anger as he finally accepted the resignation of a tearful Culture Secretary.

Miller had been claiming expenses that she was not entitled to. Something that any ordinary person would have probably faced a court. But after initially being told to pay back £44,000 by the Independent standards commissioner

Mrs Miller was ordered to repay £5,800 in over claimed mortgage expenses, by the standards committee made up of her own peers. She was also found to have broken the MPs’ code of conduct in her belligerent attitude towards the independent parliamentary standards commissioner. In other words she tried to pervert the course of justice.

DO YOU START TO SEE A PATTERN HERE? THE GOVERNMENT ARE TAKING NO NOTICE OF THE WISHES OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND STICK TO THEIR OWN BLINKERED OPINIONS UNTIL FORCED TO ADMIT THEIR ERRORS.

Anyone who criticises the government is instantly declared a maverick. Tory MP Michael Fabricant was sacked as the party’s vice-chairman last night over his ‘uncontrollable’ behaviour on Twitter. His outpourings have caused alarm at Tory high command in recent months. He was outspoken in his criticism of rail link, and when he Tweeted,  ‘about time’ when Miller finally resigned yesterday morning. The heirachy couldn’t get rid of him quick enough.

It is about time they started listening, because people have had enough of our professional politicians and there is a new kid on the block in the shape of Nigel Farage, who is going to spoil their party.

The whole edifice is corrupt from top to bottom, and people are looking for someone trustworthy to take the helm.

"government of the people, by the people, for the people" 

Miller has resigned as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Maria Miller has resigned as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, largely after a lot of defiance to public opinion, and even her own colleagues.

Mrs Miller has harmed her party, and politics in general.

Feelings are especially strong among those Tories who will fight marginal seats next year, and makes it harder for the party to win the seats that will decide the outcome of the next election.

Mrs Miller is generally regarded by colleagues as personally pleasant and affable, albeit a bit distant. But to voters, she has looked like another politician on the take who was caught out and then resorted to legalistic dodges and trickery in order to cling on to her job.

Most of the anger at Mrs Miller is not at her actions but her manner. Her brusque apology to the Commons was seen as insufficient and her behaviour has come across as graceless and evasive.

Much of the rise of Ukip and Nigel Farage is down to Mr Farage’s ability to present himself to voters as an honest man in a world of liars, someone who speaks his mind while others just offer bland soundbites and follow the party line.

Undoubtedly, the Miller saga will fuel the rise of Ukip.

Mrs Miller's camp had, on Tuesday night, attempted a fight-back after days of newspaper headlines, by suggesting she was a victim of a witch-hunt because she was dealing with press reforms recommended in the Leveson report.

In fact she has been her own worst enemy by claiming expenses that she was not entitled to.

 Parliament's sleaze watchdog ordered her to pay back £5,800 of wrongly claimed allowances on the house in Wimbledon, southwest London, which she sold for a £1.2m profit in February. However, it emerged that the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards had found that Mrs Miller should have paid back £45,000 in expenses claimed on the home but this was over-ruled by the Standards Committee of 10 MPs and three independent members, who do not have a vote.

Once again it has led to calls for an end to a system where MPs are allowed to police their own expenses.

When interviewed pm Sky News, Nadine Dorries MP said that. expenses HAVE to be abolished and that the word expenses is toxic. She suggest that MPs should only be able to claim accommodation expenses, and not expenses in relation to a second home, plus travel expenses.

After her resignation, Cameron sent her a letter in which he says;

I think it is important to be clear that the Committee on Standards cleared you of the unfounded allegations made against you, a point which has been lost in much of the comment in recent days.

So why has she had to pay back  £5800

He further says;

“You have been responsible for successfully handling two of the most controversial issues with which this Government has dealt”.

But these are some of the things that have polarised the country.

Cameron is now facing a difficult time at Prime Minister's Questions and a meeting of the Tory back benchers, for his lack of leadership in trying to support Mrs Miller.

DO YOU TRUST OUR POLITICIANS?

Culture Secretary Maria Miller was today ordered to repay £5,800 in expenses and apologise to the House of Commons.

An investigation by the Commons standards watchdog found she had overclaimed on mortgage bills in 2008-09, and the money must be returned.

The Committee on Standards spent almost 18 months investigating her use of the taxpayer-funded second home allowance.

Kathryn Hudson, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, apparently said: 'Throughout my inquiry it has been difficult to establish information and evidence to the standard of proof which I would have wished.

'It has also been difficult to find evidence to corroborate information provided by Mrs Miller’.

'Many of her responses to my questions have been very general and required repeated probing.'

In other words it appears as though, Maria Miller tried desperately to cover up her sins.

Just yesterday a young woman was convicted after spending money that had been paid into her bank account by mistake.

This claiming of expenses by Maria Miller was no mistake. It was a deliberate action and she got caught out. Why is she not subject to arrest.

Why is it the Committee on Standards who investigated and not the Police?

Politicians are at their lowest level of trust with the electorate, and there is no wonder. Time and time again they have been shown to be liars and criminals, that expect to get away with it, simply because they have MP after their name.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could return to the age when politicians who were caught out committing some indiscretion would resign instantly, but no, today Cameron stood up and defended Miller.

Is there any wonder that Farage is progressing at the pace that he is?

The press sniff at Farage and call him a "Comic figure".

Well lets ask who has held a proper job outside politics? Cameron, Milliband, Clegg or Farage?

Welcome to the lunacies of the European debate.

We the electorate are the comics if we keep voting for political science students who are full of their own importance and know as much about real life and people as I do about knitting. The Labour Tory and LibDems need party leaders who have had a career outside of politics so they can bring something to the party?

The three party leaders are professional politicians with zero experience in the real world. 
Farage has arrived on the scene, and whilst I accept that he will never form a government in my life time, he has shaken the tired political village in the UK. Our politicians are being forced to listen to what the general population wants, and react.

It’ beginning to look like he who pays the piper is calling the tune - again!