6 Mar 2012

Mike Olley writes his last column

My item last week about Mike Olley, the contender for the Labour nomination for police commissioner in the West Midlands, seems to have made something of an impact.

The excellent TopOfTheCops website points out that Mr Olley’s column in yesterday’s edition of the Birmingham Mail was his final effort for the paper.

A note at the end of Olley’s article read: “Now that Mike has announced he is officially in the running to be the Labour Party’s candidate to be the West Midlands police commissioner, he has stepped down as a columnist and this will be his last. We’d like to think [sic] him for the articles he’s provided.”

I’ve just taken a quick look at the website which gives live links to the electronic billboards round Birimingham, and it seems – seems – that Mr Olley and his friends have also removed the digital huge posters for his column.

Still, the episode should provide an interesting case study for students of election expenses law.

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