Kent Police and Crime Commissioner candidates to debate in Canterbury

Candidates in the election for Kent Police and Crime Commissioner will be taking part in a debate at the University's Canterbury campus tonight (Monday, 22 October).

The University's School of Politics and International Relations will be hosting the debate, which is open to the public. It will start at 6pm in Keynes Lecture Theatre 1 and is expected to finish at 7.30pm.

Confirmed election candidates taking part will be: Ann Barnes (Independent); Dai Liyanage (Independent); Craig Mackinlay (Conservative); Steve Uncles (English Democrats); Piers Wauchope (UKIP); and Harriet Yeo (Labour).

The debate, which forms part of the School's Open Forum session, will be chaired by Govinda Clayton, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations.

Each candidate will have five minutes at the beginning of the debate to state their case and a further two minutes at the end and questions will be taken from the audience.

Govinda Clayton said: ‘Police Commissioners will be responsible for setting priorities for their police force, overseeing its budget and hiring the chief constable.

'Those in the biggest force areas will receive salaries of more than £100,000 and no prior police force experience is needed. With the election less than a month away this will be a great opportunity to question the candidates.'

The election for the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner will take place on 15 November.

Contact: pressoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 3:20pm 22 October 2012