Meet Alison Hume the award-winning screenwriter who wants to be North Yorkshire's crime commissioner

Alison Hume, an award-winning screenwriter and Labour activist from York, is bidding to replace Conservative Julia Mulligan as the political leader in charge of overseeing police and fire services in England's largest county.

After launching her campaign this month ahead of May's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner elections, she is calling on the Government to prioritise the vaccination of all first responders.

Dorset Police have revealed one of their officers has been infected with Covid19 after being spat at – just a day after Cambridgeshire Police reported a similar attack.

The Police Federation says some forces are reporting up to 15 per cent of their officers are off sick or self-isolating while the Fire Brigades Union reports that 3,000 fire service staff are currently in self-isolation.

“We must protect our protectors," Ms Hume said. “Currently hundreds of blue light workers across the country are off ill or isolating, placing enormous emotional pressure on families as well as creating more problems for the services.

"It’s clear that our first responders are at a higher risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19 due to their increased level of exposure with the general public and the lack of regular testing."

She added: “First responders risk their lives every day to keep the public safe. It’s imperative that we ensure the protection and safety of emergency workers’ health while they carry out their jobs on the frontline.

"We need to limit the risk of officers easily contracting or transmitting COVID-19 to co-workers, their families, and the general public. Vaccinating our emergency responders will help us retain personnel and reduce sick-leave. Critically, it’s important that the public has confidence knowing that first responders have been vaccinated, ensuring public safety.”

In May's elections, which were postponed from last year, Ms Hume will take on Conservative candidate Philip Allott. Whoever is elected Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner would be responsible for setting the budget for police and fire services, scrutinising their performance and hiring the Chief Constable or Chief Fire Officer.

On her website, Ms Hume says she was born into poverty in Hull, adding: "I have lived in Yorkshire since 1995 and brought up my own family in the beautiful city of York and spending summers in Whitby."

Describing her professional work as a 'BAFTA and RTS Yorkshire award winning screenwriter', she says: "Over my 20 year writing career I’ve not been shy about tackling the kind of social issues in my scripts that are at the heart of Labour policies including the Royal Television Society 2005 nominated drama 'Beaten' starring Robson Green which explored male domestic violence and the lack of support for male victims."

She adds: "As a committed Labour activist, I am York Outer’s representative on the Yorkshire & Humber Regional Board, Chair of Bishopthorpe & Rural West York Branch and until very recently Women’s Officer of York CLP. This year I led and ran a poster and letter writing campaign with USDAW – 'Support Our Shopworkers' and led a BAME silent protest on Zoom with Yorkshire & the Humber CLPS in solidarity with our black brothers and sisters following the murder of George Floyd."