Police and Crime Commissioner elections could prove tricky for Starmer
The first in a series of pieces on ConHome this week’s looking forward to the elections this spring.
Matthew Barber: After clearing the court backlog, we need to reform the criminal justice system
Re-offending rates are far too high. Electronic monitoring is being expanded – including sobriety tags to check alcohol consumption.
Adrian Mason: Brexit offers Welsh farmers great opportunity
The only caveat is the attitude of the Welsh Labour Government, hell-bent on replacing the EU’s onerous regulations with their own.
Susan Hall: The 9.5 per cent rise in the Mayor of London’s Council Tax precept is unjustified
Khan’s latest virtue signalling project is his expensive statue-toppling commission. It’s an outrageous waste of taxpayers’ cash.
Gary Powell: My councillor handbook for the Census has arrived – with science abandoned for woke identity politics
Unless the obvious definitions of biological sex are clearly established in law, then the sex-based protections of girls and women will be undermined.
Barry Lewis: In Derbyshire, we are releasing entrepreneurial spirit to provide green energy
We want surplus land used to generate energy from biodigesters, sunlight, water, wind, or even hydrogen, that could be sold directly to local people.
Nicholas Boys Smith: The high street is dead. Long live the high street
We should be converting more shops. It is not just a question of creating homes. Our town centres desperately need an economic vaccine.
Harry Fone: Councillors in Walsall give themselves a big increase in allowances
Plus: The residents of Tunbridge Wells are left with the bill for their council’s Calverley Square vanity project.
Ian George: How to ensure the “right to regenerate” proposals succeed
Residents who seek to develop derelict public sector sites need some protection from bureaucratic obstruction.
Labour’s claim that the Towns Fund is skewed for partisan advantage lacks credibility
These are areas that have been neglected for many years. The big cities have had rather greater attention for many years.
Judy Terry: The pandemic has made waste disposal more challenging
Face masks are destroying the environment. Social distancing rules have disrupted visits to recycling centres.
David Sidwick: Police and Crime Commissioners should not be too cosy with Chief Constables
Operational independence is nothing to do with electing an independent candidate as a PCC.
The number of children in care has increased during the pandemic
Many face being trapped there, due to the bias against adoption. The Ministerial failure to tackle this has been woeful.
Marcus Fysh: The challenge of coronavirus shows the need for streamlined decision-making in Somerset
A single unitary authority in our county, is needed, as soon as possible, to help our communities to recover.
Shaun Bailey: My ten point plan for London
The first priority is to make our streets safe. I will recruit a record number of police officers.