Spoil Your Vote campaign - SY PCC election.

There is a campaign for people to spoil their votes in the upcoming PCC election for South Yorkshire.

We do not want a PCC - there is no option to vote for 'none of the above', so instead we must spoil our votes to register our objection.

Spoil your vote - make it known that you do not want a PCC

Alan Billings, Labour's candidate for the SY PCC election says, "We don't want a politician for this job" in one of his election leaflets.

We agree, we do not want a politician. Policing should not be politicised, so we would urge people not to vote for anybody standing for the SY PCC election on the behalf of a political party.

But, all four candidates for the election are standing on the behalf of political parties. So that is why we say SPOIL YOUR VOTE!

https://www.facebook.com/spoilyourvotesypcc

Will you be spoiling your vote?

Is spoiling your vote a way of saying, "none of the above"?

What do you think?

Surely a better campaign would be to find an appropriately qualified/experienced person and have them stand for the position.

jb

Surely a better campaign would be to find an appropriately qualified/experienced person and have them stand for the position.

 

jb

With the election only 8 days away, the nomination deadline for the position has long gone.

I spolit mine last time.

Look how that turned out.

Surely a better campaign would be to find an appropriately qualified/experienced person and have them stand for the position.

 

jb

A better campaign would be for NOT to have this position open for anyone , it's just another unnecessary job for the boys.

A better campaign would be for NOT to have this position open for anyone , it's just another unnecessary job for the boys.

Indeed - but how can we make this known to the powers that be?

Spoiling your vote and writing, "We do not want a PCC" on the ballot is one way of doing this surely.

As well as contacting your MP, protesting outside a polling station or a police station, talking to others, encouraging them to protest, lobby and spoil votes.

Policing should not be politicised....

I've heard this countless times but no one who has said it says who should be in charge of the police. Political control of the police didn't start with PCCs. If you removed them the police would come under control of councillors or MPs or both. The Home Office is in charge of national policing and it's part of the government, a political body.

It's a campaign based on naivety. I won't be going to the polling station next Thursday however.

Doesn't spoiling your ballot mean you have to walk 25 meters down to the polling station (in my case)? I will anyway, as I already intended to, but I am not under the illusion that anybody is going to pay notice and I am sure most people live further than 25 meters from their polling station so I think in general people will vote by abstaining altogether.

If this election gets a higher turnout than 15% (national average for full PCC elections in 2012) I will be shocked. The fact that our friendly politicians don't actually link that to the conclusion that A) nobody cares (undeniable) and B) this is not a democraticly justifiable post (undeniable) and C) that people are deeply unhappy that this post exists (up for debate but can easily be polled) is ridiculous.

Doesn't spoiling your ballot mean you have to walk 25 meters down to the polling station (in my case)? I will anyway, as I already intended to, but I am not under the illusion that anybody is going to pay notice and I am sure most people live further than 25 meters from their polling station so I think in general people will vote by abstaining altogether.

 

If this election gets a higher turnout than 15% (national average for full PCC elections in 2012) I will be shocked.

I suppose in one way the fact that you are making the effort to spoil your paper shows how serious you are about the situation

though it will be ignored anyway, most people know that pcc's aren't particularly wanted or needed.

A better campaign would be for NOT to have this position open for anyone , it's just another unnecessary job for the boys.

Someone or somebody needs to represent the interests of the public in the design of police services. Better a PCC than a faceless whitehall bureaucrat and the old police authorities gave as many if not more jobs for the boys than the PCCs.

I wonder how many of the people who oppose PCCs also oppose Lords reform? Really there's not much difference in the make up of the Lords these days to the old police authorities ie politicians and their appointed mates. At least this way we get some limited choice if we choose to exercise it.

No-one takes notice of spoiled ballot papers.

No-one takes notice of the pathetic voter turnout and the quite obvious objection to the PCC post.

It's been shoved on us anyway and there's nothing we can do about it

Someone or somebody needs to represent the interests of the public in the design of police services. Better a PCC than a faceless whitehall bureaucrat and the old police authorities gave as many if not more jobs for the boys than the PCCs.

 

I wonder how many of the people who oppose PCCs also oppose Lords reform? Really there's not much difference in the make up of the Lords these days to the old police authorities ie politicians and their appointed mates. At least this way we get some limited choice if we choose to exercise it.

I oppose the position of PCC, but I do want lords reform.

“Laws and government may be considered in this and indeed in every case as a combination of the rich to oppress the poor, and preserve to themselves the inequality of the goods which would otherwise be soon destroyed by the attacks of the poor, who if not hindered by the government would soon reduce the others to an equality with themselves by open violence.”

The problem with the police is that they are not accountable to the public, they are there to repress the majority of the public and protect the rich.

The police won't be accountable to the public via the PCCs, nor will they represent the public's interests. Having a PCC won't change a thing. It just costs the public more through their taxes and makes a mockery of democracy.