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04
May 2021
North Yorkshire crime candidates: Independent and Liberal Democrat
North Yorkshire residents are set to vote this week for the area’s first new police, fire and crime commissioner since 2012.
As candidates continue campaigning ahead of Thursday's poll, they have spoken of what they view as the biggest tasks facing Conservative Julia Mulligan’s successor to ensure the best policing service possible is delivered.
Today, we feature Keith Tordoff, Independent candidate, and James Barker, Liberal Democrat candidate.
Keith Tordoff, Independent
The residents of North Yorkshire deserve both honesty from their commissioner and someone who will fight for a fair share of government funding, former police officer and bank fraud investigator Keith Tordoff says.
He says resources for both the police and fire services are spread too thinly across the county and highlighted that currently 13 road traffic patrols are expected to police more than 6,000 miles of roads.
Mr Tordoff said:
He said upon being elected as commissioner, he would use his business and community experience to immediately hold a series of meetings with a range of bodies and the public to examine how the county could be made a safer place to live, work or visit.
When asked if he viewed North Yorkshire as a safe place, he said:
He said as an Independent commissioner, he would be free to work with anybody and would not have to toe any political party’s line.
Read more:
- Political parties confirm candidates for police commissioner elections
- Independent crime candidate: Commissioner’s role ‘should not be political’
- Lib Dem crime candidate: More frontline police needed
James Barker, Liberal Democrat
Dispensing with the police, fire and crime commissioner and handing oversight of the services to councils would free up £1m annually to fund vital equipment and facilities, says former RAF officer James Barker.
He said the incoming commissioner’s greatest challenge would be in trying to deliver a service that has had “massive underinvestment over the years, but the challenges have forever been increasing”.
The Liberal Democrat York councillor said:
While he said he would prioritise cutting call answering times on the police non-emergency phone number, he would look to increase crime prevention action by working with agencies such as councils to tackle the causes of crime.
He said:
Tomorrow we will feature the Labour and Conservative candidates for North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
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