Whoa, local authorities use their budget to commission policing from the police? (10c)
The logical next step after that would be to let them buy in policing from competitors, like private security firms or police forces from other countries.
Immigration, then, is not going to go away as one of the hottest of political potatoes in the run-up to next year’s elections to the European Parliament and the following year’s general election. Plainly voters want either new restrictions of free movement within the EU – or persuasive evidence that it’s not as big a problem as most people now think. And moves to stop new immigrants claiming early welfare benefits would certainly be popular.
But the larger challenge is to reconnect the world of political statements, statistical data and economic analyses to the perceptions and experiences of tens of millions of voters. As long as those two worlds remain far apart, I doubt if any government will be given any credit for what it sets out to do or claims to achieve.
LATEST:Stevens review calls for police and crime commissioners to be abolished for system giving more powers to local councillors.
Copper calls for less police accountability - shock. Who'd have thought that the ACPO club would like to return to the cosy world of local councillors signing off whatever the Chief Constable proposed.
Well, quite. You might have added 'copper appointed by Labour to write a review'.
After all, the old system worked wonderfully, didn't it? Hillsborough, Cleveland, De Menezes, Plebgate, the extraordinary behaviour of the police which Leveson uncovered, and thousands of less widely-publicised cases of police corruption or just plain weird priorities.
Try reading it before repeating the Chinese whispers of PB Tories who haven't read it. It specifically rules out going back to the old system and discusses a number of options based around policing boards, either wholly elected directly or with a directly elected chairman.
I have read it. Their analysis of PCCs is trivial.
As to the solution, the word you are looking for is 'fudge'.....
What is it with Coppers & 90 day detention Labour?
There are several hundred payday loan companies and many have been set up quite recently . Myjar are currently the cheapest for very short term loans ..
Great, in that case competition will drive down prices much more effectively than any government action, as it would in any sector...
You are assuming that these companies will act in competition rather than as a cartel .
But we already have laws against operating a cartel. IMO the government should concentrate on ensuring there is a genuinely competitive market in any given sector, rather than what seems to be the Miliband approach of price-fixing.
On payday loans, I'd much prefer the government to make sure companies are absolutely clear about their charges and terms, instead of setting limits on those charges. If the market is functioning well, then any company charging overly high fees will get out-competed by those charging less and will be forced to reduce its fees.
I do take the point that people seeking payday loans are more likely to be vulnerable to exploitation but, still, can't the government make sure the companies are transparent with their charges etc. and then let the market function freely within those constraints? I'm not yet convinced of the need for the charges to be limited by law.
Have people on the site noticed any differences in local policing since they got an elected police commissioner?
I think I've noticed a few changes, but these things are difficult to gauge I guess.
Several chief constables have been forced out, one way or another. Joe public might not have noticed but ACPO sure as hell have.
Prior to the introduction of PCC's (or their imminent introduction), when was the last time a chief constable was sacked by a Police Authority (or chose to resign / retire prior to being pushed).
In Scotland not only do we not have Police Commissioners, we now have a centralised police force which is supposedly being held to account by the Scottish Police Authority who were all appointed by the Scottish Ministers and are, allegedly, accountable to Parliament.
Just in case this was thought to be open or democratic we have 2 additional provisions. Firstly, this appointed Board delegate their decisions to an executive who is supposedly keeping an eye on the Chief Constable. Secondly, section 5 of the 2012 Act also provides: "The Authority must comply with any direction (general or specific) given by the Scottish Ministers"
The level of democratic accountability vaguely reminds me of the accountability of the German Army to the German Parliament before WW1 as described by Max Hastings in his recent excellent book. It is for all practical purposes (and most impracticable purposes) non existent as is any democratic accountability for the directions given by Scottish Ministers as to how the police are to conduct themselves.
Who could doubt that such unfettered discretion and lack of democratic oversight is going to produce the policing the people of Scotland want? No doubt ACPO are delighted.
Death to revisionism and opportunism ! Death to splittism! Long live the proletarian socialist revolution! Long live the proletariat of Britain! Long live the Communist Party of England (Marxist-Leninist)! Long live Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought!
LATEST:Stevens review calls for police and crime commissioners to be abolished for system giving more powers to local councillors.
Copper calls for less police accountability - shock. Who'd have thought that the ACPO club would like to return to the cosy world of local councillors signing off whatever the Chief Constable proposed.
Well, quite. You might have added 'copper appointed by Labour to write a review'.
After all, the old system worked wonderfully, didn't it? Hillsborough, Cleveland, De Menezes, Plebgate, the extraordinary behaviour of the police which Leveson uncovered, and thousands of less widely-publicised cases of police corruption or just plain weird priorities.
Try reading it before repeating the Chinese whispers of PB Tories who haven't read it. It specifically rules out going back to the old system and discusses a number of options based around policing boards, either wholly elected directly or with a directly elected chairman.
Your preferred model of one person elected by 6% of the electorate who then appoints all their mates as deputies is clearly flawed.
As luck (fate?) would have it, I've spent part of this morning (with the Chief Exec) 'ooop Town Hall having a meeting with our Police Commissioner (plus his Chief Exec and two deputies) for an ind-depth discussion about police related issues in the Borough. It was a very productive exchange of views about his plans and about working more closely together. He is doing the same with all the Surrey Leaders.
Did that happen with the former Police Authority (or would happen with the "Police Boards", er spot the difference), you have to be joking, and I mean seriously laughing-out-loud stuff. Talking with oilks like us? How vulgar, how appalling!?
Holding the elections in dark November WAS dumb....but the system is far superior to that which preceded it; it may need revising here and there (e.g. giving greater powers to the PCPs in their overseeing role), but there's no democratic case whatever for abolition.
Comments
The logical next step after that would be to let them buy in policing from competitors, like private security firms or police forces from other countries.
Immigration, then, is not going to go away as one of the hottest of political potatoes in the run-up to next year’s elections to the European Parliament and the following year’s general election. Plainly voters want either new restrictions of free movement within the EU – or persuasive evidence that it’s not as big a problem as most people now think. And moves to stop new immigrants claiming early welfare benefits would certainly be popular.
But the larger challenge is to reconnect the world of political statements, statistical data and economic analyses to the perceptions and experiences of tens of millions of voters. As long as those two worlds remain far apart, I doubt if any government will be given any credit for what it sets out to do or claims to achieve.
http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/11/25/what-we-believe-about-immigration/
As to the solution, the word you are looking for is 'fudge'.....
What is it with Coppers & 90 day detention Labour?
On payday loans, I'd much prefer the government to make sure companies are absolutely clear about their charges and terms, instead of setting limits on those charges. If the market is functioning well, then any company charging overly high fees will get out-competed by those charging less and will be forced to reduce its fees.
I do take the point that people seeking payday loans are more likely to be vulnerable to exploitation but, still, can't the government make sure the companies are transparent with their charges etc. and then let the market function freely within those constraints? I'm not yet convinced of the need for the charges to be limited by law.
I agree with Mark Wallace's analysis both on the substantive issue and the politics:
http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2013/11/osborne-payday-loans-price-fix-why-and-why-now.html
If so, before that it appears he was in the CPE (Marxist-Leninist):
http://www.marxists.org/history/erol/uk.hightide/cpestatements.htm
Prior to the introduction of PCC's (or their imminent introduction), when was the last time a chief constable was sacked by a Police Authority (or chose to resign / retire prior to being pushed).
Just in case this was thought to be open or democratic we have 2 additional provisions. Firstly, this appointed Board delegate their decisions to an executive who is supposedly keeping an eye on the Chief Constable. Secondly, section 5 of the 2012 Act also provides: "The Authority must comply with any direction (general or specific) given by the Scottish Ministers"
The level of democratic accountability vaguely reminds me of the accountability of the German Army to the German Parliament before WW1 as described by Max Hastings in his recent excellent book. It is for all practical purposes (and most impracticable purposes) non existent as is any democratic accountability for the directions given by Scottish Ministers as to how the police are to conduct themselves.
Who could doubt that such unfettered discretion and lack of democratic oversight is going to produce the policing the people of Scotland want? No doubt ACPO are delighted.
Death to revisionism and opportunism ! Death to splittism!
Long live the proletarian socialist revolution!
Long live the proletariat of Britain!
Long live the Communist Party of England (Marxist-Leninist)!
Long live Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought!
Did that happen with the former Police Authority (or would happen with the "Police Boards", er spot the difference), you have to be joking, and I mean seriously laughing-out-loud stuff. Talking with oilks like us? How vulgar, how appalling!?
Holding the elections in dark November WAS dumb....but the system is far superior to that which preceded it; it may need revising here and there (e.g. giving greater powers to the PCPs in their overseeing role), but there's no democratic case whatever for abolition.