WE have to confess to being quite excited about the election to find a police commissioner for Cambridgeshire.

Not that we particularly agree with the decision but we do believe elections brings out the best in people.

In the main, most appreciate the opportunity of the ballot box to then see who they might enjoy vilifying for the next five or seven years. The police commissioner role is unchartered territory and the allure of a decent salary – anything from �70,000 a year to �100,000 – means the post ought to secure a plethora of able candidates.

Obviously the Conservatives expect Cambridgeshire as of political right but maybe Labour or an independent may yet surprise them all.

Biggest surprise might well be the candidature of Shona Johnstone, a former council leader, a police authority member, and a growing influence in the Local Government Association. All the cards might have been stacked in her favour apart from the little local inconvenience of a charge of criminal damage which will not be resolved by the judiciary until late August.

Since the Tory group at Shire Hall has already suspended her from membership (they insist she is innocent until proven otherwise but rules of suspension are rules...) it is unlikely she will stay in the race.

But suppose she decided to go it alone. Stand as an independent. Take a battering ram to the criminal charge she vehemently denies.

Cometh the hour, cometh the woman?