Lancashire

Candidates may spend up to £201,729 during the election period for this £85,000 post.

Statement of Persons Nominated

Afzal Anwar – Liberal Democrat

Tim Ashton – Conservative – Website

Rob Drobny – UKIP

Clive Grunshaw – Labour – Website

The Labour candidate is County Councillor Clive Grunshaw, who first commented to the Lancashire Evening Post, and has a website here below, but there is more on the Lancashire Labour selection process at this TopOfTheCops article. Ibrahim Master, who came second on the postal ballot has announced that he is to be appointed as a Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner in Lancashire should Mr Grunshaw win the election. Here is Ibby’s website. He was endorsed by Jack Straw.

The other Labour candidates were…

• Mark Atkinson – came third on the postal ballot. This is an archive of his campaign emails to Labour party members.

• Councillor Chris Maughan -was not longlisted by Labour, despite being on the Police Authority. His TopOfTheCops Candidate Statement is here. Supported Mark Atkinson on the final ballot.

• Former County Councillor Chris Cheetham was longlisted, but they forgot to invite him for interview, and when this was finally corrected after other candidates were shortlisted, he was interviewed and subsequently not shortlisted.

• Paul Cotterill has written of his experience of applying but not making the shortlist. He has suggested the elections may have been a bit of a fix. He was formerly leader of the Labour group on West Lancashire District Council.

At a meeting in Blackpool on 14 July Lancashire Conservatives chose Fylde Borough and County Councillor Tim Ashton as their candidate, with me (Sam Chapman) as runner-up. Councillor Kevin Horkin, County Councillor Geoff Driver and other anonymous candidates had applied but did not make it to the final stage.

The Liberal Democrats have confirmed Afzal Anwar as their candidate.

Robert Drobny is the UKIP candidate.

A candidate apparently contacted Lancashire Police Authority to tell them he was standing, but didn’t want them to let anyone else know. I don’t know if this is the same as Tony Johnson, or whether it is proper to call him an Independent, as he has started his own party he calls The Alliance Party GB, and was the party’s candidate, until he noticed that anyone convicted of an imprisonable offence could not stand. As he has 2 convictions for drink driving, that means he is out of the race.

Lancashire Police Authority have launched an attractive and informative site at www.lancspcc.co.uk

The Lancashire Police Authority consults via the Lancashire Opinions on Policing site. Its survey on Police and Crime Commissioners is interesting reading for candidates and selection panels. Among the gems are that “84% of you felt that the PCC should have some knowledge of policing and 57% felt that he/she should have direct experience of policing.” The latter was more than double the 23% who thought the Commissioner should have direct experience working in politics.

Press Coverage

Lancashire Telegraph, Lancashire Evening Post and Clitheroe Advertiser and Times.