Labour members in North Yorkshire have selected York firefighter Steve Howley as the Party’s candidate for this May’s Police and Crime Commissioner election.
- A public election for PCC will take place on 5 may 2016
Steve is a familiar face to many across the county already, as he is the current leader of the Fire Brigades Union in North Yorkshire.
He has been a fulltime firefighter for 18 years, and has served at both Malton and York fire stations.
Steve, a family man, lives in Sherburn-in-Elmet with his wife and two-year-old triplets.
And, was the overwhelming choice of constituency parties across North Yorkshire.
If elected as Police and Crime Commissioner, Steve is pledging to:
- Offer genuine alternatives to frontline cuts
- Challenge Westminster when required, not be the Tory government’s voice in North Yorkshire as we have with the current PCC
- Be more accessible to the public than the current PCC, holding open surgeries and community events across North Yorkshire
- Increase public and police officer safety
- Improve road safety and improve on police attendance times
Speaking after his selection was confirmed, Steve Howley said:
I am delighted to be representing the Labour Party as the candidate in the PCC election and I am looking forward to the challenge.
I’m not a career politician – I’m someone with close to two decades’ experience on the frontline serving in our emergency services as well as working at a strategic level for the past 6 years.
With the government’s dangerous plans for PCCs to take responsibility for fire and rescue in addition to the police, I’m someone who knows what is really happening on the frontline within your emergency services in North Yorkshire because I work it every week.
I have first-hand experience of trying to keep someone alive at a road accident for 40 minutes waiting for an ambulance or the police to arrive due to chronic shortages caused by cuts.
My frustration at the constant cuts to vital emergency services while at the same time millions of pounds is being wasted in other areas of those services is my ultimate driving factor to become PCC. I know I can work positively with the Chief Constable to make a difference and deliver the most cost effective, efficient Police service while improving on Police Officer numbers and service delivery to the tax payers of North Yorkshire.
The public are disillusioned with the current Tory PCC. It is time for change, a strong and effective leader not afraid to stand up to the Tory government in Westminster, with a detailed knowledge and understanding of the challenges our modern day emergency services face is what’s needed. I’m determined to win this election, so that North Yorkshire has someone strong standing up for our police and emergency services.
