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    Labour picks Prescott for police commissioner election

    Politics.co.uk – Mon, Jun 18, 2012

    By Alex Stevenson

    John Prescott has secured Labour's backing to stand as the party's police and crime commissioner in Humberside.

    The former New Labour deputy prime minister was chosen by local party members over Keith Hunter, who had served as Humberside's senior police officer.

    That gives him the opportunity to compete in the main election to be police and crime commissioner on November 15th this year. The office replaces police authorities with a single individual who is empowered to shape policing policies and hire and fire police chiefs.

    "I have won and I'm delighted to do so," Lord Prescott told the Hull and East Riding Mail.

    "I want to be the champion of the people and their voice on policing matters. I am looking forward to the campaign and getting my message across."

    The former deputy prime minister used his Twitter account to thank Mr Hunter for a "lively campaign" and pledged he would be the "people's voice".

    "THEY will shape their policing priorities with the police NOT Whitehall," he stated.

    Lord Prescott has maintained a prominent presence in British politics since entering parliament's upper House, thanks to his outspoken views on issues like phone-hacking and other issues. He has 139,000 followers on Twitter.