Final four running for Lincolnshire Police Crime Commissioner

— Updated on October 24 to reflect Independent candidate Mervyn Barrett stepping down from the Lincolnshire PCC elections.

Lincolnshire will go to the polls on Thursday, November 15 to elect its first Police Crime Commissioner.

The PCC will be elected to oversee how crime will be tackled, to cut crime and to ensure the police force is effective.

Among other local issues, the county PCC will also decide on the future of the Lincoln Police Station and plans for a new custody suite in Nettleham.

The final five four candidates for the Lincolnshire role have been nominated. There are three two independents and two party candidates.

• Richard Davies – Conservative
• Paul Gleeson – Labour. He is replacing previous candidate Phil Dilks, who stepped down from the race over a historic offence 44 years ago.
• Alan Hardwick – Independent
• David Bowles – Campaign to Stop Politicians Running Policing
• Mervyn Barrett – Independent

Elliott Fountain from the English Democrats previously announced he will be running for the role, but he is not on the final nominations list.

A report in The Telegraph claims Mervyn Barrett’s campaign been run by a team from a US-based neo-conservative think tank, the Fund for the New American Century, funded in part by a variety of corporate donors with an interest in public-sector privatisation.

Mervyn Barrett’s entire campaign team has resigned, and he pulled from the race on October 24.

Turnout in the elections for the brand new role is expected to hit record lows, so the government is running a campaign on TV, online and print to entice voters with the tag line “On November 15th criminals will hope you do nothing.”

However, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has encouraged people not to vote in the PCC elections because the police areas are too big for any individual to properly represent.

He said: “I’ve never said this before but I actually hope people don’t vote because that is the only way we are going to stop this. I’ve always been someone who says vote.”

The Lincolnshire PCC elections take place on November 15. Votes will be counted on November 16. The Lincolnite will bring you profiles and interviews with the candidates before the elections, and the results as they come in on November 16.