Exclusive: Sources have told us that Luton and Wayfield councillor and former Chatham and Aylesford Parliamentary candidate Tristan Osborne will be Labour’s candidate for Kent in the upcoming Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
Cllr Osborne previously announced that he was putting himself forward for the role in November, with nominations closing this month. We are now able to reveal that Cllr Osborne was the only candidate to pass the Labour interview panel, and as such will be formally announced as the candidate next month.
Cllr Osborne is a former special constable, and intends to focus his campaign on opposing cuts to frontline services and maintaining neighbourhood policing.
Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioners elections will take place this May. So far, the Conservatives, UKIP, and the English Democrats have all announced their candidates, as has Independent Fergus Wilson. It is unclear whether or not the current Commissioner, Independent Ann Barnes, intends to stands for a second term.
You may or may not have heard of Fergus Wilson. He’s one of the biggest buy-to-let landlords in Kent, and has a reputation for doing lovely things like selling as many properties to foreign investors as he can and bumping up rents on those in his properties by large sums. Then, a few months ago, he decided to announce that he was running to be Kent’s elected Police & Crime Commissioner. In it’s own right, that isn’t the most exciting news we’ve covered, but he did so like this:
There’s just so many competing elements here that it’s hard not to be overwhelmed. An announcement of candidacy? Check! Something vaguely resembling a policy on Operation Stack? Check! Wishing England well in the Rugby World Cup? Sure! A photo with a former rugby player? Why the hell not?
The thing is, it didn’t really stop there. Ads like this kept appearing in the Medway Messenger (and presumably other local Kent titles). The next ad went back to Operation Stack again and for some reason a picture of Geoff Hurst and a frankly baffling policy to use sports stars to solve Kent’s problems:
Things really hit a crescendo with this incredible piece of work that demanding people stop hitting women and Frank Bruno. On top of this, we’re treated to an offer that Fergus would let you touch his championship belt if you promise not to hit women. What the hell is going on?
And then, just as suddenly, the ads stopped appearing. Surely nothing could stop this incredible individual from his campaign to take control of Kent’s police? Well, an unfortunate spot of legal bother could. You’re not allowed to be a Police & Crime Commissioner if you’ve been convicted of an imprisonable offence, and as Fergus punched an estate agent in 2013, he’s unable to hold the post.
Which should have been the end of the saga…
And Yet…
This happened:
Given this ad talks about the Police & Crime Commissioner election, goes through the Operation Stack routine again, and proclaiming “back me or sack me”, the impression is given that Fergus Wilson has given himself the role of Police & Crime Commissioner without any silly election.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at the current state of Kent’s Police & Crime Commissioner candidates, because Fergus Wilson somehow isn’t the most bizarre.
