Tory police commissioner hopefuls chosen in public vote

6:20pm Saturday 16th June 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Matt Smith, Politics and business reporter

Former Hampshire East MP Michael Mates Former Hampshire East MP Michael Mates

The final two Conservatives hoping to become Hampshire's new £80,000-a-year police commissioner have been chosen in a public vote.

A shortlist of six candidates addressed 400 members of the public at Ferneham Hall in Fareham.

Michael Mates, 77, from Winchester, a former East Hampshire MP for 36 years and Donna Jones, 35, a councillor and magistrate from Cosham in Portsmouth, won the most votes.

They now go forward for party members to decide who will be the Conservative candidate in the election for the new role on November 15.

The other candidates were: Sean Woodward, the leader of Fareham Borough Council; Hampshire County Council deputy leader Mel Kendal from Milford on Sea; Roger Ainsley, a rear admiral from Southsea; and Christopher Brannigan, a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards from Winchester.

Meon Valley MP George Hollingbery, who co-ordinated the American-style selection process, unique for the party nationally, said: “It was great that so many members of the public decided to come and take part in the public part of the selection process.    

“This is a very important and high-profile role, so it was only right that the public had some input on who might be the new police commissioner. I wish Michael & Donna the best of luck.”

Comments(16)

IronLady2010 says...
7:07pm Sat 16 Jun 12

Is 77 a bit too old? I fully appreciate some elder people are living in the current world, but others are still stuck in the 50's.

Maybe give the job to someone younger who is more aware of the younger generation and the problems they bring to today's society.

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Paramjit Bahia says...
8:56pm Sat 16 Jun 12

Although in my view aping American system for policing is wrong, we have to respect this politicising of policing because it has been agreed by our parliament
.
Selection of candidates is internal matter for parties concerned. In this case for Conservatives
.
In all fairness it must be said that they appear to be providing level playing field to potential candidates without discrimination
.
Pity some self confessed Royston Smith fan on this site does not appear to be satisfied as has argued against one of the candidate because of his age
.
Hope other Tory contributors will not be bigots like that. Because all citizens are not only equal under law but it is also immoral to discriminate. Decent people should not be doing that even when they have consumed few litres of cheap wine and hallucinating under the name associated with certain former Prime Minister

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IronLady2010 says...
9:07pm Sat 16 Jun 12

I'm not a fan of Royston, I admire what he has done for our City and have left open my thoughts for williams also.

You on the other hand are so set in your ways that you will never change opinion and that is why I feel the elder people may not be suitable.

I adapt to change, Royston was good for our City, given the chance, maybe Williams will be just as good, who knows, I will vote next time based on what they do.

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Torchie1 says...
9:32pm Sat 16 Jun 12

Paramjit Bahia wrote:
Although in my view aping American system for policing is wrong, we have to respect this politicising of policing because it has been agreed by our parliament
.
Selection of candidates is internal matter for parties concerned. In this case for Conservatives
.
In all fairness it must be said that they appear to be providing level playing field to potential candidates without discrimination
.
Pity some self confessed Royston Smith fan on this site does not appear to be satisfied as has argued against one of the candidate because of his age
.
Hope other Tory contributors will not be bigots like that. Because all citizens are not only equal under law but it is also immoral to discriminate. Decent people should not be doing that even when they have consumed few litres of cheap wine and hallucinating under the name associated with certain former Prime Minister
Would you be happier to ape the Stalinist system and see a monster like Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия in charge of the police? With your left wing leanings I'm sure you recognise the name of Lavrentiy Beria the notorious head of Stalin's secret police.

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mooky9 says...
2:11am Sun 17 Jun 12

Torchie1 wrote:
Paramjit Bahia wrote:
Although in my view aping American system for policing is wrong, we have to respect this politicising of policing because it has been agreed by our parliament
.
Selection of candidates is internal matter for parties concerned. In this case for Conservatives
.
In all fairness it must be said that they appear to be providing level playing field to potential candidates without discrimination
.
Pity some self confessed Royston Smith fan on this site does not appear to be satisfied as has argued against one of the candidate because of his age
.
Hope other Tory contributors will not be bigots like that. Because all citizens are not only equal under law but it is also immoral to discriminate. Decent people should not be doing that even when they have consumed few litres of cheap wine and hallucinating under the name associated with certain former Prime Minister
Would you be happier to ape the Stalinist system and see a monster like Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия in charge of the police? With your left wing leanings I'm sure you recognise the name of Lavrentiy Beria the notorious head of Stalin's secret police.
To be fair to Paramjit he is spot on when it comes to Politisising the Police. They should be left independant of all Political interference and remain servents of the crown. With this new system it is open to corruption and "the old boys club" surely the farce that is the Leveson investigation is showing up how corrupt ALL of the parties are...?

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Bartat says...
8:39am Sun 17 Jun 12

Whilst the elder Michael Mates is being discussed above don't neglect the fact that the youngest of the six, Donna Jones was the other "winner" of this shortlisting caucus (which also gave two "independent" candidates a platform). At only 35 she is one feisty contender with a good CV and not to be underestimated.

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Torchie1 says...
10:47am Sun 17 Jun 12

Bartat wrote:
Whilst the elder Michael Mates is being discussed above don't neglect the fact that the youngest of the six, Donna Jones was the other "winner" of this shortlisting caucus (which also gave two "independent" candidates a platform). At only 35 she is one feisty contender with a good CV and not to be underestimated.
A married mother of two young sons, a Councillor, a Magistrate and now trying to take on another demanding role. How many tasks can one person undertake if they are going to commit themselves to the extent that each role requires?

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Tom Scott says...
10:57am Sun 17 Jun 12

Michael Mates? Would that be the same Michael Mates who was forced to resign from John Major's cabinet twenty years ago over his 'close connections' to the alleged high rolling criminal fraudster Asil Nadir? Are the Hants Tories out of their mind? Should Nadir be found guilty of embezzling £150 million of his own peoples' money what then Michael Mates' legitimacy as the man charged with leading crime policy and provision throughout our county? As a life long Tory voter, this may actually be the final straw for me. Count me out as a supporter for 2015.

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Peter Jenkins says...
3:07pm Sun 17 Jun 12

I work for an associated police body so I went along to this meeting and was very impressed by Mrs Jones. She will be a formidable commissioner and was the only one with any relevant experience. And to the previous poster she did say that she would give up her other roles if she gets elected, and would have to give up being a magistrate in any event under the legislation.
As for Michael Mates, he didn't impress me at all and seems to just want another ride on the gravy train; he really didn't know what he was talking about, unlike Lt Col Brannigan who was excellent too and it's a real shame he didn't make it in place of Michael Mates.

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Tom Scott says...
4:48pm Sun 17 Jun 12

Have to agree with Peter Jenkins. In what concrete long-term way can a man of Mates' age contribute? Brannigan would appear a better choice: much younger and with a contemporary military experience matched with a desire to contribute to the local community. A Labour-supporting colleague has just told me that the Observer has run a piece today about apathy among the Tory faithful regarding this new crime commisioner role. The promise of a roll call of ancient Tory grandees struggling to cope with the complexities of modern crime, particularly in urban settings like Southampton and Portsmouth, and it's no wonder people are getting turned off!

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Bartat says...
8:12am Mon 18 Jun 12

I too was at the meeting and agree 100% with Peter Jenkins. I spoke with a former Police Sergeant and he was very impressed with Mrs Jones, who did make it clear that this would be her one and only job (other than being a Mum!), if successful. My advice to Tom Scott would be to attend the next round on 3 July to help ensure that the right candidate goes forward for the November election.

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Tom Scott says...
5:15pm Mon 18 Jun 12

Thanks, Peter, I certainly will. My fear though is that Mates will win simply because he's an ex-cabinet heavyweight and garners the reactionary vote. OR that Mrs Jones beats him soundly without Hants having seen a proper fight between fairly equally matched opponents espousing modern, forward-thinking policies. From what I've seen and heard, I say Brannigan could be that opponent.

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Tom Scott says...
5:19pm Mon 18 Jun 12

My apologies..addressed wrong contributor...thank you, Bartat!

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Bartat says...
7:45am Tue 19 Jun 12

No problem Sir! Sadly, the Colonel drew the short straw and kicked off the process - normally a good position, but not with a total of six contenders over 4 hours and a lunch-break.

However, having seen Labour's candidate it's even more important you are there Tom, to make sure that "we" make the right choice.

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SotonGreen says...
9:25am Wed 20 Jun 12

I dont see how a 77 year old can possibly understand the complexities of modern policing and the variety of alternate lifestyles that have to be accomodated within the framework of the law.

How would a 77 year old Mates have helped with the out of control policing of the jubilee party on the common ?

I hope the Tories select Donna at least with a family she seems in touch with the real world.

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IronLady2010 says...
8:08pm Fri 22 Jun 12

SotonGreen wrote:
I dont see how a 77 year old can possibly understand the complexities of modern policing and the variety of alternate lifestyles that have to be accomodated within the framework of the law.

How would a 77 year old Mates have helped with the out of control policing of the jubilee party on the common ?

I hope the Tories select Donna at least with a family she seems in touch with the real world.
I'm not going to mention names, but one thing I do agree with is that a younger, family friendly person is better suited.

Many elder people are set in their ways and cannot and will not adapt to change. All this, when I was young, is history and doesn't belong in this current world.

I have the utmost respect for elder people, so please don't think I'm being anti elderly as Barmy suggests.

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