Candidates’ Declarations re. Criminal Convictions

So far the following ‘candidates’ have withdrawn from the PCC election following a problem with a previous conviction which rendered them unable to stand:-

2 Independents – Tony Johnson in Lancashire, and Simon Weston in South Wales)

2 Conservatives – Keiron Mallon in Thames Valley, during the selection process and Mike Quigley in Nottinghamshire

3 or 4 selected Labour candidates, Bob Ashford in Avon and Somerset, Alan Charles in Derbyshire (who later was reinstated when he was advised that the conditional discharge he received as a youth for stealing a woman’s purse while shopping did not technically qualify as a conviction), and Phil Dilks in Lincolnshire.

The last one for Labour is Lee Barron in Northamptonshire, who ‘quit’ after nominations had closed, and after the deadline for withdrawals had passed. His name remains on the ballot.

People need to know who they will have to choose from, and candidates need the time to explain why they should be supported. This will not happen if this drags on, and this problem threatens to steal time that should be devoted to the real ideas and issues in the election , so in August on this website I asked all candidates to make a declaration that they had considered the strict rules on criminal convictions and that they were qualified to stand.

By my reckoning so far 42 candidates in 24 areas have responded by making declarations, which leaves a fair amount still to declare. How many are not declaring because they are worried about their past?

Some may not have declared because they do not know about this opportunity to declare. In addition to raising the issue on this website, I have contacted many people individually, by email and twitter. If I have not contacted you, please accept my apologies, but I will still accept your response and update this page – email me at Editor@TopOfTheCops.com

Some people are very hard to contact online, considering that they are trying to persuade a high electorate to vote for them. One would think they would be more accessible.

Some are clearly not handling their own email or the social media accounts in their names, and so responses are filtered or delayed by this.

Some may be fielding similar, rather belated, enquiries from their Parties, and I get the feeling that some are reluctant to say anything without clearance from their party or without seeing what other people do first.

Some, I may have forgotten. If you told me twice by different means, thanks for persisting, and for not pointing out to me that I had already received your response.. If you have told me and this has been missed below, sorry, and please tell me again!

Subject to the qualifications, here is the list. The question is – “Who has made a declaration to TopOfTheCops that they have considered the legal qualifications and concluded that they are not disqualified?”

Avon and Somerset

Lib-Dem Peter Levy has.

Conservative Ken Maddock hasn’t yet, and I’ve not yet contacted Labour’s Dr John Savage, but he better had, as he has replaced Bob Ashford who withdrew because of his previous convictions.

Bedfordshire

Conservative Jas Parmar has.

Labour’s Olly Martins and the British Freedom Party’s Kevin Carroll have not yet.

Cambridgeshire

None of the following candidates have made a declaration – Labour candidate Ed Murphy, UKIP’s Paul Bullen, English Democrat Stephen Goldspink, Official Monster Raving Loony Lord Toby Jug and Independents Ansar Ali and Paul Dakers.

Conservative Candidate John Pye had made a declaration, but then stood down as a candidate. The position of his replacement, Sir Graham Bright, is not known.

Cheshire

Conservative John Dwyer and Labour’s John Stockton have both made declarations.

Cleveland

Neither Labour’s Barry Coppinger or Conservative Ken Lupton have declared. Nor has potential Independent Candidate Sultan Alam, who at one point did have a conviction which was quashed.

Cumbria

Conservative Richard Rhodes, Labour’s Patrick Leonard, Independent Mary Robinson and potential LibDem candidate Pru Jupe have not yet made any declarations.

Derbyshire

I emailed Labour’s Alan Charles on Wednesday 8th August. I did not receive a response, but he announced his withdrawal from the election on Friday 10th August due to a court appearance when he was a teenager for which he received a 12-month conditional discharge. I emailed him the same day to tell him he did not need to withdraw as conditional discharges do not always count as convictions. I did not receive a response but on Tuesday 14th August he was reinstated as Labour candidate for that reason. The offence for which he received a conditional discharge has not been released.

The replacement Labour candidate is not yet known.

Conservative Simon Spencer has not yet declared

Devon and Cornwall

Labour’s Nicky Williams has declared.

Conservative Tony Hogg and Independent Brian Greenslade have not.

Dorset

Independent Martyn Underhill, Conservative Nick King, Liberal Democrat Andy Canning and Labour’s Rachel Rogers have declared.

Durham

Neither Labour’s Ron Hogg or Conservative Nick Varley have declared.

Dyfed Powys

Neither Labour’s Christine Gwyhther or Conseravtive Christopher Salmon have declared

Essex

Independent Mick Thwaites has declared.

Conservative Nicholas Alston, Labour’s Val Morris-Cook and English Democrats Robin Tilbrook have not.

Gloucestershire

Independent Martin Surl has declared.

So far Labour’s Rupi Dhanda and Conservative Victoria Atkins have not.

Greater Manchester

No candidate has made a declaration. This includes Labour’s Tony Lloyd, Conservative Michael Winstanley, Independent Ben Brierley, and English Democrat Michael Felse.

Gwent

Independents Chris Wright and Ian Johnston have declared.

Labour’s Hamish Sandison has not yet declared.

Hampshire

Neither Conservative Michael Mates or Labour’s Jacqui Rayment have made a declaration.

Hertfordshire

None of the following candidates have declared – Conservative David Lloyd, Labour’s Sherma Batson, Liberal Democrat Ron Tindall.

Humberside

Neither Labour’s John Prescott, Conservative Matthew Grove or UKIP’s Godfrey Bloom have made a declaration.

Kent

Conservative Craig Mackinlay, Labour’s Harriet Yeo and Independents Ann Barnes, Ian Driver and Dai Liyanage have declared.

None of the following have declared – Independent Fergus Wilson and English Democrat Steve Uncles.

I have corresponded with Independent Kenneth Little. He is concerned about the rules for spent convictions and maintains the “prospective’ nature of his candidacy. He has made no clear declaration, but from what he has said I will be surprised if his name makes it to the ballot paper.

There is no declaration from Independent Fran Croucher, but I have seen nothing of her since her initial claim to be standing after a fairly unpleasant fall-out with Kent police. It is not clear that she should still be listed as a candidate.

Lancashire

Conservative Tim Ashton has declared.

Labour’s Clive Grunshaw has not.

Tony Johnson, at one time the candidate for his own party, the Alliance Party GB, was in many ways the person who started all this off when he withdrew from the race back in June due to his drink-driving convictions.

Leicestershire

Conservative Sir Clive Loader has declared, as has Independent Suleman Nagdi.

None of the other candidates has declared – this includes Labour’s Sarah Russell as well as Independent David Bowley.

Lincolnshire

Conservative Richard Davies, and Independents Mervyn Barrett and David Bowles have declared.

Labour’s Phil Dilks and English Democrat Elliot Fountain have not, but Phil Dilks has now stood down because of a previous conviction.

Merseyside

Labour’s Jane Kennedy sent me a humorous response which was not sufficiently clear for me to count as a declaration.

English Democrat Paul Rimmer has not declared.

Norfolk

Conservative Jamie Athill has declared.

Labour’s Steve Morphew and Independent Mervyn Lambert have not.

Northamptonshire

Conservative Adam Simmonds, Liberal Democrat Paul Varnsverry and Independent John Norrie have declared.

Labour’s Lee Barron and Independent Matt Stockdale have not. Matt Stockdale has since withdrawn and Mr Barron has attempted to quit because of a previous conviction which he has made public after his nomination was accepted. See commentary above.

Northumbria

Neither Labour’s Vera Baird or Conservative Phil Butler have declared.

North Wales

Labour’s Tal Michael has declared.

Independent Richard Hibbs has not declared, commenting on this site that he thought self-declaration was not an especially useful idea, and worrying about me having plans to have all candidates DNA and urine tested. And to think I thought my plans for the development of this site were secure from prying eyes!

North Yorkshire

Neither Conservative Julie Mulligan or Labour’s Ruth Potter have declared.

Nottinghamshire

Neither Labour’s Paddy Tipping or Conservative Mike Quigley have declared, but Mr Quigley subsequently stood down due to a previous conviction. His replacement, Tony Roberts, has not declared his status.

South Wales

Much of the impetus for this issue was provided during the debate as to whether Simon Weston’s youthful conviction prevented him from standing as an Independent. He later withdrew.

No other candidates have made a declaration – this includes Labour’s Alun Michael, and Independents Michael Baker and Tony Verderame.

South Yorkshire

Independent Gillian Radcliffe has declared.

Labour’s Shaun Wright has not declared.

Staffordshire

Conservative Matthew Ellis has declared.

Labour’s Joy Garner has not declared.

Suffolk

Conservative Tim Passmore has declared.

Labour’s Jane Basham has not declared to me, but I understand from Ipswich Spy that she has declared, so I am going to count that one, as I am generous to a fault, and I’ve now spoke alongside her at two conferences and she seems nice!

Surrey

Conservative Julie Iles, Lib-Dem Nick O’Shea, and Independents Peter Williams and Kevin Hurley have declared.

Labour’s Robert Evans has not declared. Neither has Paul Clarke, but this could be a problem.

Sussex

Independents Ian Chisnall and Nigel Goodyear, and Conservative Katy Bourne have declared.

Labour’s Godfrey Daniels, and Independent Phillip Jones (if he exists!) and David Joe Neilson have not declared.

One-man party Matt Taylor is in the peculiar position of having asked for a pardon for a military conviction that may well debar him from running.

Thames Valley

Labour’s Tim Starkey has declared, but other candidates have not. This includes Conservative Anthony Stansfeld and Independents Gurcham Singh and Martin Young. Mr Young had a dispute with a councillor which led him to acquire a conviction and led him to lose his gun collection, but it is unclear if this will make him ineligible to stand.

Warwickshire

Conservative Fraser Pithie has declared.

Labour’s James Plaskitt and Independent Ron Ball have not.

West Mercia

Independent candidate William Longmore has declared.

No other candidates have declared. This includes Labour’s Simon Murphy and Conservative Adrian Blackshaw.

West Midlands

Conservative Matt Bennett and Independent Cath Hannon have declared.

Labour’s Bob Jones and ex-cops and Independents Ray Egan and Mike Rumble have not declared.

West Yorkshire

No candidates have declared. This includes Labour’s Mark Burns-Williamson and Conservative Geraldine Carter.

Wiltshire

Labour’s Clare Moody has declared.

Conservative Angus Macpherson has not declared.