Tory PCC Candidate Claims Personal Connections in Home Office

Published on: 24 Apr, 2021
Updated on: 25 Apr, 2021

Lisa Townsend (Conservative)

By Julie Armstrong

local democracy reporter

The Conservative candidate for police and crime commissioner has been slammed by the four other nominees for suggesting she alone would have privileged access to the Tory government.

In hustings hosted by BBC Radio Surrey on April 22, Lisa Townsend twice named Home Secretary Priti Patel and Kit Malthouse, minister for crime and policing, a debate that exposed the complicated history between the Conservative Party and Surrey’s PCCs.

David Munro (Independent)

But Independent incumbent David Munro said that was an insult to Mr Malthouse who was immune to “Tory sleaze and cronyism”.

Ms Townsend, asked if the government had failed to fund the police properly, said she would be fighting for “far more than Surrey’s fair share of officers”.

She added: “Of course, that is the advantage of being a Conservative in this role, being able to work very closely with Kit and Priti, both of whom I know and I’ve worked with before and who have both promised to work with me.”

Kevin Hurley (Zero Tolerance Policing Ex-Chief )

Kevin Hurley, the Zero Tolerance Policing Ex-Chief candidate, said Surrey received “the lowest government grant in the country” and he did not believe Ms Townsend could change that.

She replied: “I spoke to Kit Malthouse earlier this week and he has promised a change in the funding formula during the lifetime of this parliament and I think that’s really important.

“And of course I’m the only candidate who, if I win, will actually be able to talk to Kit and Priti.

“Good luck to all the other candidates, but I am clearly the only candidate who will actually be able to walk into the Home Office and have these conversations and fight for Surrey and Surrey victims.”

Paul Kennedy (Lib Dem)

Mr Hurley, who was Surrey’s first PCC in 2012, said: “I’m not going to let Lisa get away with that BS, that she can walk through the corridors of power and get a fair hearing.

“I can assure you, that when I was the police and crime commissioner, I was up and down at the Home Office all the time.”

Mr Munro added: “Lisa, you’re doing a very honourable policing minister, Kit Malthouse down. He is not open to Tory sleaze, he is absolutely straight.

Howard Kaye (Labour) Photo Andrew Wiard

“He will recommend police funding on the evidence, not on cronyism. And I’ve already started to gather that evidence to persuade him and his colleagues actually to get it right, because they’ve done Surrey down.”

When challenged on the Surrey Police low clear-up rate, Mr Munro blamed central government cuts, admitting: “Too many criminals are getting away with it.

“It’s not a failure of Surrey Police, because they’ve been trying really hard over the past few years with diminishing resources.

“Let’s not forget that 30 per cent of government funding has been cut in the past 10 years. I’ve given Surrey Police every scrap of resources I possibly can.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Kennedy said there was “unhappiness” about the decision to increase council tax and said he would prioritise improving Surrey Police’s efficiency.

Mr Munro said: “There haven’t up until now been enough police; now there are going to be. They’re not all there on the streets yet, it takes time to train them, but they will be.”

Mr Hurley said: “Shame on the Conservative government for what they’ve done to Surrey Police. [They are] haemorrhaging skilled people out of the force as a direct result of the Conservative cuts.”

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