Jacob Williams https://jacobwilliams.com

There’s only eight weeks to go until Thursday 15th November, when the British public will be going to the polls to vote in the inaugural Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

(Or a pathetic 18% of the public, as predicted by the Telegraph.)

In Dyfed-Powys it’s looking like our choice will be between Conservative (Christopher Salmon) or Labour (Christine Gwyther.) They are the only declared candidates so far, though there’s still time for another contender to enter the ring.

In fact, the window for submitting nominations hasn’t even opened yet. The nomination process opens no later than Monday 8th October and closes at 12 noon on Friday 19th October. Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems are not contesting these elections, so the most likely three-horse-race scenario is if an independent candidate chances it, though my poll could be taken to suggest that an official monster raving loony candidate would fare better.

For several weeks now I’ve left the readers’ poll on my website unchanged, asking you which way you’d vote in this election if you could vote for the options I listed.

It’s not the same as “which way will you vote” because as mentioned, we don’t yet know the official list of all candidates standing, and those who chose “independent,” “none of the above,” and “the what election?” in my poll will either not vote at all, or opt for Conservative or Labour (if they are the only two choices.)

Things are pretty close between Conservatives and Labour, and with 8 weeks to go, I’m still not aware of either candidate running a strong campaign.

I could be wrong, but I suspect they’ll both be concentrating their canvassing in Llanelli – the most populated town by far within Dyfed-Powys, and around the Carmarthen area. Perhaps the Pembroke/Pembroke Dock and Haverfordwest regions too, but of course the Dyfed-Powys area stretches up to the English border so it’s almost an impossibility to cover most towns and villages within the force in the time left.

Both Chris S and Chris G have set up a Facebook page, from which I can see they’ve both canvassed in Brecon within the past few days.

❏Have any candidates or their canvassers knocked your door yet? Let me know below.

The new poll relates to a notice of motion I intend putting forward at the next council meeting.

Thanks to the eager efforts of the proud Pembrokeshire public, the Pembrokeshire flag has received greater exposure in the past few years than it ever has over the decades, having been incorporated into business logos, promotional material, and flown prominently at county events.

I think it’s time our local authority adopts it as our county’s official emblem.