Author Archives: samchapman

Politics on your Doorstep

Posted on 03/09/2012 by samchapman

When TopOfTheCops covered the difficulties attending the selection of Michael Mates as Conservative PCC candidate in Hampshire, there was a flurry of responses. That flurry was not from Hampshire though, and not from Surrey, which had also been mentioned in … Continue reading →

Posted in Resources, Selecting Candidates | Tagged | 12 Comments

Avon and Somerset – Expenses and Allowances

Posted on 02/09/2012 by samchapman

This is the start of the new TopOfTheCops initiative to collate expenses and allowances claims for candidates' previous experience of public office. To learn more or to give any general feedback on this initiative go to the 'Meet the Professionals' … Continue reading →

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Meet The Professionals

Posted on 02/09/2012 by samchapman

One of the issues in the Police and Crime Commissioner election is around whether the job should be held by a politician. This usually involves some debate as to what constitutes a politician, whether concerns are about all politics or … Continue reading →

Posted in Expenses and Allowances | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Silly, out of season

Posted on 01/09/2012 by samchapman

August is probably the very last month you would choose to “bury bad news”. With Parliament not sitting and many politicians on holiday normally there is a dearth of news which produces the famous 'silly season' where small curious stories … Continue reading →

Posted in Updates | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Boris leads the way on PCC team-building

Posted on 31/08/2012 by samchapman

If you could look, through a crystal ball perhaps, 3 months into the future you could tell a lot about PCC world, perhaps including how the new Commissioners were beginning to form their teams. But there is no need for … Continue reading →

Posted in Perspectives | Tagged | 2 Comments

Another fine mess

Posted on 30/08/2012 by samchapman

Today it seems that John Pye is no longer the Conservative Candidate for Cambridgeshire. At least that’s what Conservative Campaign Headquarters think. (Update: This is probably the best story-in-a-headline on the issue- “Tory Party announces that Tory hopeful who beat two Tories … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Perspectives, Selecting Candidates | 7 Comments

Democratic Demographics

Posted on 29/08/2012 by samchapman

Jon Collins is Deputy Director of the Police Foundation. Here he shares some facts about the candidates for Police and Crime Commissioner. The last couple of weeks have probably been the busiest yet for the media debate on Police and … Continue reading →

Posted in Resources | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Off The Record

Posted on 28/08/2012 by samchapman

TopOfTheCops can exclusively reveal today that Home Secretary Theresa May met with Falklands veteran Simon Weston at the end of January, and just days later he launched his ill-fated bid to stand as an Independent candidate to be Police and … Continue reading →

Posted in Perspectives, Updates | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

…in for a pound?

Posted on 26/08/2012 by samchapman

The Birmingham Post’s Jonathan Walker has done some digging on the TopOfTheCops story about an investigation into the West Midlands Conservatives PCC candidate selection. They have spoken to Jim Cooper, Chairman of the West Midlands version of the curiously-named Police … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Media coverage, Selecting Candidates | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Michael’s mate Asil’s nadir

Posted on 25/08/2012 by samchapman

You could not make it up. If you wrote it as fiction, the book would be panned for stretching credulity. But no, it's true. The once fugitive multi-millionaire businessman Asil Nadir returns to Britain from Northern Cyprus to clear his … Continue reading →

Posted in Perspectives | Tagged | 9 Comments