Labour's West Midlands Police Crime Commissioner candidate doesn't want the job

Labour really have chosen a sullen bunch of has beens and union placemen as their candidates for the Police and Crime Commissioner election on Thursday. There was an interview in The Times (£) this morning with Cllr Bob Jones, Labour's candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner, who says:

"I’d be more than happy to go down in the pub quizzes as the first and last PCC for the West Midlands."

He adds:

“One of the biggest questions I get asked is Why? Why do we need this post? Why are we spending £100 million creating a new breed of politician?”

If Cllr Jones is honest he will reply that this £100 million cost will be matched by the savings from scrapping the Police Authorities. He would point out that the £100,000 a year salary is less than the total spent on allowances for the West Midland Police Authority.

Cllr Jones should be aware if the generous allowances paid out to the 14 members of that talking shop as he has been on the receiving end of them since 1986.

There is also the detail that Cllr Jones was Chairman of the Association of Police Authorities. This obscure outfit costs us £1.5 million a year including £294,150.

It won't be missed.