Humberside police commissioner election preview: Pledges of all seven candidates

IN THE bar of a Goole social club, three men huddle around a television.

On screen is a televised debate between the seven candidates bidding to become the region's first police and crime commissioner.

It is the only time during months of campaigning that all seven have come face-to-face to debate.

Tonight, on a drizzly November evening, four of those candidates have come to Goole for the last hustings before the election.

The Charter Club is the setting for their last chance to go head-to-head.

With apologies from Simone Butterworth and Godfrey Bloom – who both have prior engagements – and Neil Eyre's car having broken down en route, it is left to Lord Prescott, Matthew Grove, Walter Sweeney and Paul Davison to take questions from the audience.

The pace of the campaign has upped in the past week, with two debates and a high-profile visit from former Prime Minister Tony Blair to support his former deputy Lord Prescott, who is standing for Labour.

With voters going to the polls tomorrow, and with predictions of a low turnout, the candidates are pulling out all the stops to win votes.

In the hall where the hustings is taking place, the issues most concerning the crowd are the perceived lack of police on the streets and problems with the town's migrant population.

Paul Constable is concerned about the future of Goole police station after the town's magistrates' court was closed.

He says: "Will it be moved to Beverley or Selby like everything else? Beverley seems to be closing this town down.

"We never see any proper police in the town as it is.

"I sit in the North Eastern every day, having a couple of pints and watching the world go by, and the most I see is a PCSO. They look like they have just come out of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides and they've got no powers."

One member of the crowd, who gave his name as "Johno", says: "There is a great deal of fear, anger and frustration about the high level of migrants in some areas of Goole."

When independent candidate Walter Sweeney says immigration levels are too high, two men chime "hear, hear", and applause scatters around the crowd.

At the University of Hull, where a hustings was held last week, the issues were different.

Again, Liberal Democrat Simone Butterworth and UKIP's Godfrey Bloom are absent, with Ms Butterworth caring for her mother and Mr Bloom having "declined the university's invitation".

Independent candidate Neil Eyre made it to the debate, telling the crowd how he is "sick and tired of the establishment".

Candidates were quizzed on how they would balance tackling urban and rural crime, increase police presence on the streets and raise the accountability of police.

During the television debate, it is Labour's Lord Prescott and Godfrey Bloom who clash over Mr Bloom's plans to scrap speed cameras. When the subject is mentioned in Goole, Lord Prescott's comment that Mr Bloom "is the only candidate who wants to kill his constituents" receives the biggest cheer of the night.

By the time of the final hustings, the candidates have perfected their speeches.

Lord Prescott wants to resurrect Labour's "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime", Matthew Grove wants to measure the effectiveness of the police by "what you get out, not what you put in", while Paul Davison spells out his "vision of policing" and Walter Sweeney explains his "knowledge and experience".

As the crowd file out into the bar, supporters of the candidates are handing out campaign leaflets.

But who has done enough to win over the electorate? On Friday, we will have the answer.

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Here are the key pledges of each of the seven candidates.

Matthew Grove, Conservative

Key pledge: Billing drunken criminals for police time, increasing special constables, keeping police stations open.

Full interview with Matthew Grove

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Lord Prescott, Labour

Key pledge: Reducing the number of police officers being cut, introducing levy on problem pubs and clubs, launching neighbourhood courts.

Full interview with John Prescott

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Simone Butterworth, Lib Dem

Key pledge: Donating £25,000 of salary to victims’ charities, not hiring a deputy, focus on reoffending.

Full interview with Simone Butterworth

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Godfrey Bloom, UKIP

Key pledge: Scrapping speed cameras, abolishing prioritisation of hate crime, campaigning for tougher sentences for criminals.

Full interview with Godfrey Bloom

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Paul Davison, Independent

Key pledge: Investigating every report of crime or antisocial behaviour, opening police stations more, increasing officers on the streets.

Full interview with Paul Davison

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Neil Eyre, Independent

Key pledge: Redefining antisocial behaviour, increasing transparency, listening to the public.

Full interview with Neil Eyre

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Walter Sweeney, Independent

Key pledge: Cracking down on low-level crimes, introducing better use of technology to increase efficiency, targeting landlords who serve drunks.

Full interview with Walter Sweeney