After two terms as Wiltshire and Swindon’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Angus Macpherson has announced that he will be standing down in May 2020 – when a new PCC will be voted in. The Conservative Party has selected Wiltshire Councillor Jonathon Seed as their candidate for PCC at the 2020 election.
Mr Macpherson was elected as the area’s first PCC and re-elected in 2016: “As we enter another decade I feel it’s the right time to let another person, with their own energy and vision, continue the good work which I and my office have done so far.”
His statement stressed the many changes he has made to improve the Wiltshire force’s efficiency and make it ‘match fit’ for the twenty-first century: “In addition, I have been passionate about bolstering services for those caught up in the criminal justice system, vulnerable people and victims of crime.”
We will not know for some time whether such policies will continue. Jonathon Seed is Wiltshire Councillor for Summerham and Seend and lives near Bromham, He has the Council portfolio for flooding.
He has recently been campaigning to persuade the current PCC to change his policies: “I am continuing to seek more effective & visible policing in Wiltshire & Swindon. At the recent Wiltshire & Swindon Police and Crime Panel I pressed the PCC on the matter.” (Twitter 24 January 2019).
And on February 7 he tweeted: “Delighted to see PCC has responded to my request to bolster the CPTs [Community Police Teams] with additional local police officers rather than into firearms and traffic. It’s feet on the beat residents want to see.”
It has been said among Wiltshire Councillors that he had ambitions to succeed Baroness Scott as the unitary council’s leader. However, his decision to stand for the PCC post – first stated in January 2019 – must mean he had decided against entering that contest.
He has been described to marlborough.news as being on the right of the party. On March 1 he tweeted: “Tonight I attended the Chippenham Conservative Association annual dinner & took the opportunity to challenge Amber Rudd on Brexit. I asked when she & other like minded MPs intended to reconnect with their electorate & members on Brexit. Unconvincing reply!”
It is not clear how Conservative members in Wiltshire and Swindon chose Mr Seed as their candidate. There is no mention of the process or his selection on the Wiltshire Conservatives website.