Do you feel safe in Wiltshire?

In today’s episode Fiona speaks to Mike Rees, who is standing as an independent candidate in the upcoming election of a new Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner.  Mike stood as a candidate back in 2021 and came second to the person who secured that post representing the Conservative Party. With no political party support or apparatus, backed by volunteers and a small budget from supporters, Mike spent his own money and time to stand up for what he believed in. In this podcast Mike shares why he’s going for the role again – a role he actually believes should not exist. Given that it does, he feels that the person who oversees the county’s police force should not be influenced by party politics.  He was inspired by the recent success of another independent candidate David Tully who stood as an MP for Rochdale. With no experience in campaigning and no political agenda, David came second. His campaign was all around caring for his community and the issues of importance in Rochdale. He lost to George Galloway. Mike talks about his first campaign and also how much he learned and this time he’s ready for the fight at hand. With the support of his family, he’s ready to hand over his business to a manager and devote his time totally to the role.  For Mike, there are many issues to tackle within Wiltshire Police: a demoralized and frightened grass roots police force. too much spin among the police leadership and poor leadership. a lack of transparency over monies and how they are being spent.  a lack of detail over performance when it comes to solving crimes.  a lack of public access to the police.  As PCC, Mike says he would be honest about any challenges. He believes there has been a lack of investment in the police nationally, including Wiltshire and that needs to be addressed. Anyone who wants to keep in touch with Mike and his campaign can do so via his Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/MikeReesPCC If you want to find out more about Fiona & Scott Media why not join her group on Facebook – Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe – here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe