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Luton Labour’s appointments to the Bedfordshire Police Authority descends into farce
1 comment on Luton Labour’s appointments to the Bedfordshire Police Authority descends into farceOver the last few weeks I have been blogging about the ridiculous mess the Luton Labour party have got themselves in over the nominations from Luton Borough Council to fill Luton’s places on Bedfordshire Police Authority. You can read my previous posts on this here: Labour cock up leaves Luton without representation on Bedfordshire Police Authority “Labour Party spokesman” wrong on Police Authority formula Meet the Bedford Labour Councillor the Luton Labour Party want to…
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Meet the Bedford Labour Councillor the Luton Labour Party want to throw off the Police Authority
Meet Councillor Colleen Atkins MBE. She is a Bedford councillor, a member of the Labour Party, and is currently Portfolio Holder for Performance and External Relations in the administration of Bedford’s Liberal Democrat elected Mayor Dave Hodgson. She is also one of the two Bedford Council representatives on the Bedfordshire Police Authority. I’ve covered here before how the insistence by the Luton Labour Party that all three of Luton Council’s places on the Police Authority…
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“Labour Party spokesman” wrong on Police Authority formula
I’m returning to the issue of Luton’s current lack of representation on Bedfordshire Police Authority in order to correct a misleading statement by the Luton Labour Party. Last week I was welcoming Luton on Sunday’s belated reporting of how the insistence by the Labour group on Luton Borough Council that the three people who should represent the town on the Police Authority should be Labour councillors, in the face of the understanding by the other…
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Luton on Sunday finally reports on the Police Authority row
I noticed in this Sunday’s edition of the Luton on Sunday that they had finally got around to reporting on the row that is taking place over Luton’s representatives on the Bedfordshire Police Authority. It is about a month since I was wondering on this blog why they were not covering this story. The crucial meeting that left Luton without any representation on the police authority was on the 20th May, so it has taken…
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Why didn’t Luton on Sunday cover the Police Authority row?
I was going to write about the Police Authority row anyway but I was more keen to do so when I realised that one of our local papers, the Luton on Sunday, hadn’t covered it. Now they may not think it a particularly exciting or interesting story. A bunch of councillors arguing about who sits on what isn’t full of sexy scandal or heart warming human interest I admit. So I wasn’t expecting the front…
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Labour cock up leaves Luton without representation on Bedfordshire Police Authority
As I hinted in an earlier post, there is currently a big row going on about who should represent Luton on the Bedfordshire Police Authority. It seems that arrogance by the Luton Labour party has screwed up the appointment process and left Luton without any members. The police authority is the body that oversees policing in Bedfordshire, sets the police budget, and appoints senior officers. It is made up of independent members and councillors appointed…
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EDL demo cost taxpayers nearly £2m
The local press are reporting that the policing of the EDL rally that was held in Luton earlier this year cost nearly £2m. The good news is that the Home Office has agreed to reimburse Bedfordshire Police for the full costs. However, you can’t help thinking that the money would have been better spent elsewhere. It also doesn’t include the amount lost to shops and other businesses as a result of the town centre being…
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2nd update on the EDL rally in Luton planned for the 5th February
It is now less than a week until the rally planned by the English Defence League in Luton for the 5th February 2011. I’ve been blogging about this unwelcome event, which is causing anxiety within Luton’s communities and significant public expense, because I feel it is important that correct information about what is happening is distributed as widely as possible. The Bedfordshire Police have now issued a statement about what is being arranged for Saturday…
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The new Bedfordshire Chief Constable
Another Luton related story I have been slow to blog about is the news that the next Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police is to be the wonderfully named Alf Hitchcock. Mr Hitchcock will take over when the current Chief Constable, Gillian Parker, retires at the end of the year. More here. Bedfordshire Police, as the smallest force in the UK, seems to have been struggling to find a clear strategic direction over the last few…
