Medway Liberal Democrats back Graham Colley to stand in the Police & Crime Commissioner election

Graham Colley has been selected to stand as the Kent Liberal Democrat candidate in the 2024 Police & Crime Commissioner election.

Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce that Graham Colley has again been selected as their candidate at the next Police and Crime Commissioner election, due to take place in May this year. Graham is a vocal supporter of Kent Police and will campaign for more frontline officers and improved visibility of policing, especially in rural areas of the county.

A Party member since university, Graham Colley knows the area well. He lives in Rochester, and has campaigned in many Kent elections. Graham has been a Parliamentary candidate previously for Mid-Kent and a former Kent County Councillor for Medway South and co-chair of the Kent Fire and Public Protection committee. 

Graham Colley said: “I feel privileged and honoured to have been selected for the PCC, and want to focus on caring for our community, our neighbourhoods, and neighbours. I want to bring back community policing, get drugs off our streets and deliver a fairer deal for Kent.

Local policing gives people confidence that their safety is being cared for. Communities, in turn, know and respect their local police. Police officers know and understand the communities they serve. Where there are likely to be problems, good neighbourhood policing can anticipate them. 

As a Liberal Democrat in Kent, I have seen at first hand the impact of withdrawing community policing, and the slashing of PCSO numbers by half. It has led to increased anti-social behaviour and other crimes in both rural and urban areas. Conservative cuts to youth services and mental health services have made preventative programmes less likely.

The time has now come for Kent Police, and other public services and our communities as well for a fairer deal for the men and women who put their lives at risk to keep us all safe."

For more information please contact pcccandidate@grahamcolley.org

 ENDS

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ADDITIONAL/ALTERNATIVE TEXT

It's still all about our Community: ©Caring for our neighbourhoods ©Caring for our police ©Caring for each other

In particular, LibDems believe:

i) Crime policy must be based on the evidence of what works. 

ii) More preventative work is required, particularly through joined-up working with other public services. 

iii) Too many victims of crime still have a negative experience in the system. 

iv) Too many criminals are not required to confront their behaviour. v) More action is required to tackle violence against women and girls. 

vi) Too few prisoners receive effective pre-release support and re-offending rates remain unacceptably high. 

vii) A new preventative, health-based approach is required to tackle drug and alcohol misuse. viii) Stop and Search remains a source of deep mistrust between the police and the public, and requires reform.

Graham is a very active campaigner for the Lib Dems and enjoys a wide variety of outdoor activities and does a great deal of voluntary work in the community. 

Graham is President of the Liberal Democrat Lawyers Association-/Rights-Liberties-Justice (Newsletter editor and former Chair).

He studied Law at Aberystwyth and European Law at the College of Europe and has an MBA from City University Business School. Graham has recently completed a research degree in Banking Reform at the University of Kent.

He has been a Legal Aid lawyer in Lambeth, Westminster and Chatham and now has a practice specialising in Wills and Inheritance issues.

Graham has shown years of service to the Party in Kent fighting for Liberalism and the European ideal, fighting to help overcome the divisions in Society.