THROUGHOUT this week, the Gazette will be previewing the seven candidates for the Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner election on May 5. Today in focus is UKIP candidate Aaron Foot.

Farmer and businessman Aaron Foot has been chosen to represent UKIP in the forthcoming Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner election.

Aaron grew up near Bristol and was educated in Kingswood before studying farming at Lackham College in Wiltshire. He then went self employed on leaving college in 2008 and entered straight into the dairy industry, buying a free holding in Somerset to set up his own farm.

Aaron, who was unveiled at the party’s conference in Thornbury, currently sits as a councillor in Coleford, and has previously been a UKIP candidate for South Gloucestershire Council and the Mendip District Council.

He said: “We, the people of the South West, deserve the opportunity to have a different type of person representing their interests, working with police forces across the region to deliver outstanding levels of service.

“I may be standing under the UKIP banner but the key part in the name for me is the word, ‘Independence’. 

He added: “UKIP local representatives are free to stand for their constituents, free from the bounds of the party whip. My focus will be upon the policing requirements of the local community.”

Aaron’s campaign to become Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner stands upon a platform supported by five pillars:- 

- Ensuring that all crime is recorded, and the ease of reporting crime is improved. 

- Reversing the current decline in police numbers. 

- Guaranteeing rural police units have the tools they need made available to tackle crime. 

- Working closely with partners of the force to stop people with mental health issues being detained in police cells. 

- The reinstatement of specialist teams.

He added: “If I am elected, I want to make sure my term will be one of transparency and community involvement. 

“As a result, I have signed up to a standards checklist on Public Life, which promotes high ethical standards.”