Tory campaign: warm fuzzy words and military leadership

I really wasn't going to write another blog post today but then I came across this... This is Jamie Athill's 'Norfolk Police & Crime News' which is linked to his campaign website.

Regular readers will recall my analysis of Mr Athill's campaign video: see below. I summed up my take on this video as 'platitudinous'. Now of course, I am really not in the business of promoting Tory PCC candidates' websites but I landed on this one in the hope that I might find some actual policies and priorities. Something more than was contained in the video...

Guess what... my breath has never been more taken. There is nothing of substance, at all! Read the piece yourself. What will the voting public of Norfolk get from this 'newsletter'?

• Lots of stuff about Jamie
• An explanation of what the role of the PCC is
• More stuff about Jamie
• Brief statements on how he will a) improve policing by improving accountability by being elected b) underpin operational independence and so boost morale, and c) support organisations which support victims and which reduce reoffending
• Even more stuff about Jamie including a photo of him in an army beret
• More stuff about what the PCC can do
• Key dates and (quite a useful bit) about supplementary voting

What are his priorities?!!? Is he so convinced he is going to win that he hasn't even bothered to produce a manifesto? His one page statement on Sam Chapman's Top of the Cops site is equally vacuous.

What is going on? On the one hand we have the 'lets target all the young baddies' approach encapsulated by the media campaign and posters such as this one. And on the other and we have these 'newsletters' from candidates such as Mr Athill.

Does the conservative party think the voting public of England and Wales are so stupid that all they need to be given is a warm feeling about their Tory candidate and they will roll out and vote on November 15? Because, that is how it appears right now. They are running a cynical and patrician campaign.

But perhaps this shows what they really think of the police and the connected criminal justice system. They can't even be bothered to think enough to put up serious policies and priorities because they are not that bothered about community safety.