The Herald and Post reports that Northamptonshire PPC, Conservative Adam Simmonds has come under fire after budgeting up to £260,000 for his new management team. Mr Simmonds did not speak of a management team in the hustings, or his election literature. Neither did he state that he would be employing his election agent and other Conservative colleagues without advertising the vacancies. He has therefore short changed the electorate of a potentially better candidates for the job than those he has employed. This week it emerged the cost of the quartet of Assistant Commissioners could rise to more than a quarter of a million pounds after the jobs’ full time salaries were revealed as £65,000. Former PCC candidate Jim MacArthur said: “I would knock off at least £25,000 from these salaries and make them between £30,000 and £40,000 and my feeling is these people appointed do not have the experience necessary.” So is Mr MacArthur saying he too would have employed assistants had he been elected, again this was not made clear at hustings or in election material. Assistant commissioner for engagement, Mr Heaton, showed himself up to be the archetypal uncaring Conservative by stating: “Ultimately we could do it cheaper as instead of an office we could have a garden shed and we could share a desk and use one pencil.” What a nasty arrogant sod.
Three illegal immigrants have been arrested by the UK Border Agency after raids on businesses in Rothwell and Corby. At the Taste of India in Bridge Street, Rothwell, they found a taste of Pakistan with one member of the kitchen staff being a 25-year-old visa overstayer. Officers then visited Mias Fast Food in George Street, Corby, finding two members of the kitchen staff were immigration offenders from Bangladesh. One a 37-year-old man found to have entered the UK illegally and a 22-year-old man had overstayed his visa. All three men were taken into UK Border Agency detention pending their removal from the country. Anyone who has information on suspected immigration offenders can visit http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/contact/report-crime/. I can think of one Restaurant in Corby where they may find more than illegal immigrants: a couple of child abusers perhaps?
There is a petition to abolish the PPCs at:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/41806
Should have guessed that PPC`s would be just another gravy train and vector for mainstream political patronage. The moral suitability for PPC of someone who immediately employs several of his cronies at inflated pay rates must be questioned, the guy is brazen enough to do it without even the pretence of a proper personnel selection routine. More leeches for the taxpayer to feed.