Published and Promoted by Lynn Ibeji, on behalf of Graham Colley at 155 Sturla Road, Chatham, ME4 5QH
- President of the Liberal Democrat Lawyers Association-/Rights-Liberties-Justice (Newsletter editor and former Chair), Solicitor.
-
Studied Law at Aberystwyth and European Law at the College of Europe. He has an MBA from City University Business School and has recently completed a research degree in Banking Reform at the University of Kent.
-
Worked in the City and has been a Legal Aid lawyer in Lambeth, Westminster and Chatham.
-
A Party member since university, former Treasurer of Maidstone and Southwark & Bermondsey Liberal Associations and has been a campaigner in many London and Kent elections.
-
Parliamentary candidate for Mid-Kent (twice) and for Rochester & Strood in the 2019 General Election. He is a former Kent County Councillor and co-chair of the Kent Fire & Public Protection committee.
-
European activist. He fought for a Peoples’ Vote from July 2016.
-
On the London List in the hugely successful European elections.
What is a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)?:
A PPC’s role is to maintain an efficient and effective police force and to hold the Chief constable to account for the delivery of the ‘Police and Crime Plan’. PCCs raise the policing precept part of council tax. PCCs are also responsible for the appointment and dismissal of the Chief Constable.
Police and Crime Plans
Following their election, a PCC must produce a “police and crime plan”. That plan must include the PCC’s policing objectives, the resources and how performance will be measured. Both the PCC and the Chief Constable must have regard to the police and crime plan in the exercise of their duties. The PCC must report annually.
Lib Dem Policy –
To replace PCCS, ‘elected at great expense in elections with very low turnout’, with accountable Police Boards made up of local councillors.
Dear Fellow Liberal Democrat,
A neo-populist Tory government has taken us out of our beloved European Union.
Their populism now threatens the independence of our judiciary and our rights of judicial review. They have spoken against our Human Rights Act and the European Court of Human Rights.
Their solution is more punishment, longer sentences, more ’bobbies on the beat’ and less Legal Aid.
It is a Liberal freedom to live without the threat of crime. However, as radicals, we must look to real solutions, not gratuitous fixes. Crime is a symptom of a problematic society and the individuals within it. Policing cannot change society, it can only seek to prevent its worst effects until society solves it own problems. However, until then, an effective police service is required to ensure the right to safety and security .
It must also be more cost effective to prevent crime, whether it be gang violence or fraud. It must identify and help those with ‘borderline personality order’ and other psychological/dependency issues, before, rather than after, they are imprisoned. Those who are a danger, must be kept from society but those who return to the community must be supported before and after release, to minimise re-offending.
Best wishes,
Graham
Campaigning for radical solutions to old problems!