Denis Healy is latest Lib Dem candidate for Police & Crime Commissioner elections

Great to see Denis Healy added to the list of Liberal Democrat Police & Crime Commissioner candidates.

A view that of course is in no way influenced by the fact that it reminded me of the best Labour leaflet headline, ever.

But back to the present. These are set of elections which, as Judith Woodman put it so eloquently a few days ago, it is crucial the party takes seriously.  So here’s the full story about Denis:

The Liberal Democrats have announced that Denis Healy will be the Lib Dem challenger in May’s Police and Crime Commissioner election in Humberside.

Denis said: “I want to be a different kind of Police & Crime Commissioner – listening and available to local residents. My first pledge is to hold an open surgery in every city, town and parish in the force area once a year.”

“The current Police & Crime Commissioner is too remote and out of touch. Few people have seen or heard from him since he was elected, and even fewer know how to influence the priorities of the Police in their area.

“Worse still, inspectors have slated the management of the Force on his watch. Front-line Police feel they have been held back from offering the service they want to offer to residents. Police officers on the ground in communities work very hard and need proper support from the top.

“Local people deserve the very best front-line Policing and too many people feel they’re not getting the local community service they want or need. That’s why I am looking forward to taking the fight to the incumbent Police & Crime Commissioner in May.”

In 2012 the Lib Dems finished a strong second place to Labour in the Hull City element of the Police & Crime Commissioner election. This time the election will be on the same day as local government elections in Hull and North East Lincolnshire, which contain many strong Lib Dem areas and will be a boost to Denis’ campaign.

Denis has lived and worked in Hull and the East Riding for over 25 years and has the skills and experience to lead a large organisation. An experienced manager, Denis has had a long career in business and manufacturing, supporting local manufacturing companies and helping their apprentices and engineers improve their skills.

Denis has a clear plan to improve policing in Hull, East Yorkshire and North and North East Lincolnshire. If elected in May, Denis will improve front-line policing, getting more Police visibility on our streets. He will fight for more support for victims of crime and work with all four local Councils to boost crime-prevention, and will be setting out his plans in more detail over the coming weeks.