On Wednesday, Ann Barnes is joined on the campaign trail by the former independent candidate for London Mayor, Siobhan Benita, as she re-launches her Youth Commissioner policy at Folkestone Academy. This proposal, a development of a similar idea proposed by Siobhan Benita for City Hall in London, would see a young person recruited to work alongside the Police Commissioner, to ensure that the needs and aspirations of the county’s young people are reflected.
Speaking ahead of her visit to Kent, Siobhan Benita said: “I’m delighted to support Ann and her campaign. As an independent commissioner, Ann would focus all her efforts on the needs of the public and would not be distracted or dictated to by party politics. It is particularly crucial that a police commissioner is an independent figure. I am especially pleased to see Ann’s Youth Commissioner policy because ensuring that young people have a real voice in their communities and public services is crucial but gets ignored by party politicians all the time”.
Ann Barnes said: “I’m thrilled that Siobhan is supporting me in Kent. She carried the ‘Independent’ flame with distinction in her battle against the main political parties in London. I am fighting those same political parties in Kent. The Police Commissioner Elections are stacked against Independents and it is regrettable that several high profile Independent candidates have felt forced out of the race including Simon Weston in the West Country and Khan Khan Juna in Thames Valley. However, with the support of leading Independents like Siobhan and Martin Bell, and a massive ground swell of opinion amongst Kent citizens that party politics has no place in policing, my campaign is going from strength to strength”.
Siobhan Benita’s support for Ann Barnes comes in the wake of a YouGov poll last week which showed that nearly two thirds of people are against candidates supported by political parties.
Lack of public awareness of the PCC elections, with fears of turnout of less than 20%, has prompted a ‘you tube’ song and video endorsing Ann Barnes’ candidature, a spoof of a famous Gilbert & Sullivan patter song. It can be watched below:
The confirmed candidates for Kent's Police & Crime Commissioner election are:
Barnes, Ann (Independent)
Botting, John (Liberal Party)
Driver, Ian (Independent)
Little, Ken (Independent)
Liyanage, Dai (Independent)
Mackinley, Craig (Conservative Party)
Uncles, Steve (English Democrats)
Wauchope, Piers (United Kingdom Independence Party)
Yeo, Harriet (Labour Party)
No Liberal Democrat candidate has been put forward or selected.
