As in other elections on May 7, the Conservatives have made gains in the third elections for police and crime commissioners. The PCCs were first voted in, in November 2012, and again in 2016 for a four-year term; the elections were due in 2020 but put off a year due to the covid pandemic. These PCCs, who generally will officially take up their positions at the end of the week, will serve a three-year term to 2024.
In London, the Mayor of London has policing among his responsibilities; Sadiq Khan, Labour, was re-elected. Likewise re-elected for Labour as Mayor of Greater Manchester was Andy Burnham; and former Labour MP Tracy Brabin, now West Yorkshire metro mayor.
Some 17 PCCs in office were standing down.
In Avon and Somerset, the Conservative Mark Shelford beat Labour in a second round of counting; he took over from Sue Mountstevens, an independent, who was not standing for re-election. He said that priorities included more visible policing, strengthening specialist teams, refocusing the police on fighting crime and increased partnership working with NHS and other agencies.
Festus Akinbusoye has been elected as Conservative PCC for Bedfordshire.
Darryl Preston is Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s new Police and Crime Commissioner; he held for the Conservatives. He was a 30-year policeman; first for the Met, then in Cambridgeshire; on retirement he became an official at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC).
Steve Turner has become the Conservative PCC for Cleveland. He replaces Barry Coppinger, for Labour, who resigned last autumn.
In Cheshire, David Keane the Labour PCC since 2016 lost to the Conservative, John Dwyer, on a 25 per cent turn-out.
Peter McCall held Cumbria as a Conservative, winning in the first round of counting as he comfortably had a majority of first preference votes cast. However as generally turn-out was much lower than for local government, let alone Westminster, elections; for Cumbria as a whole turn-out was 27.6 per cent, and as low as 18.4pc in the Barrow district.
In Derbyshire, Angelique Foster, the Conservative candidate, won with more than 149,000 votes. Hardyal Dhindsa, who held the post from 2016, received 117,564 votes.
The Conservative Alison Hernandez was elected to a second term as Devon and Cornwall PCC, on a turn-out of 37.2pc. In an acceptance speech, she said: “I’ve got an ambitious plan to make us the safest place in the country – we’re already second but I want to get to number one.”
David Sidwick was elected Dorset’s new Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner. He replaces an independent, Martyn Underhill, who was not standing. Sidwick won on a second round of counting against another independent, Dan Hardy.
In Durham, Joy Allen won for Labour.
Roger Hirst, Conservative, was re-elected as Essex PCC on a turn-out of 32.5pc, with more than half the votes, Labour coming second.
Martin Surl, in Gloucestershire, was the only independent PCC to seek a third term in office; on first preferences he came third, behind the Liberal Democrats and in first the Conservative candidate Chris Nelson, who has been elected, on a turn-out of 40.9 per cent, one of the highest in the country.
Donna Jones, the Conservative former Leader of Portsmouth City Council, has been elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. She replaces another Conservative, Michael Lane.
David Lloyd was re-elected as Conservative PCC in Hertfordshire.
A Conservative, Jonathan Evison, was elected as the new Police and Crime Commissioner for the Humberside Police force area, beating Labour incumbent Keith Hunter in a second preference count, after being ahead 71,554 to 61,859 after the first round; on a turn-out of 22.9pc. Evison is Mayor of North Lincolnshire and Chair of the Police and Crime Panel which as in other force areas holds the PCC to account. He said: “My priorities will be to increase the number of police on our streets and have a more visible policing presence, to tackle the issues of drugs and anti-social behaviour, a higher concentration on rural crime so our rural areas are not feeling left behind and to spend some time looking into the 101 non-emergency call system and building public confidence in that system so the public can feel confident in reporting a crime and knowing something will get done.”
Conservative Matthew Scott was re-elected in Kent.
Andrew Snowden, the Conservative candidate, was elected in Lancashire. The previous, Labour, PCC Clive Grunshaw had been commissioner since 2012. In one of the closer PCC elections, Grunshaw came second by under 9000 votes at the second count with preference votes added; on a turn-out of 33.7pc.
Marc Jones was re-elected Conservative Lincolnshire PCC.
Rupert Matthews, a Conservative, was elected as Leicestershire’s PCC, beating the Labour incumbent Lord Bach.
Emily Spurrell became Merseyside’s second Labour Police and Crime Commissioner, in the first round. A former community safety lead for Liverpool City Council, she takes over from Jane Kennedy who first took office in 2012.
The Conservative Giles Orpen-Smellie has been announced as Norfolk’s new PCC. He comfortably beat Labour on a second round of counting. The Conservative from 2016, Lorne Green, was not standing this time.
Stephen Mold was re-elected as Conservative Northamptonshire PCC. He’s also fire commissioner.
Kim McGuinness was re-elected as Labour Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria. She became PCC at a by-election in 2019, after Dame Vera Baird became Victims’ Commissioner.
Philip Allott has been elected as the Conservative Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire and the City of York. He replaces another Conservative, Julia Mulligan who was elected in 2012 and 2016.
Paddy Tipping, the Labour PCC for Nottinghamshire and chairman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), lost to Caroline Henry, the Conservative.
Dr Alan Billings was re-elected as Labour South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, in the first round; on a turn-out of 30.9pc. He was first elected in November 2014 at a by-election and was re-elected in 2016.
Of the 39 Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales, four are also Fire Commissioners. One is the Staffordshire Commissioner; the new man is Ben Adams. The Conservative was elected on a turn-out of 28.9pc. The previous PCC, also a Conservative, had been Matthew Ellis since 2012; he had been the APCC lead on fire.
Tim Passmore was re-elected for a third term as Suffolk’s Conservative PCC.
In Surrey, the Conservative candidate Lisa Townsend was elected on second preference votes, after no candidates received more than 50pc of first preference ballots. She replaces David Munro; on a turn-out of 38.81pc.
In Sussex, the Conservative Katy Bourne has been re-elected as Police & Crime Commissioner for a third term. She’s been the national business crime lead for the APCC.
Conservative candidate Matthew Barber has been elected in Thames Valley. He has been deputy to the outgoing Anthony Stansfeld, who was PCC from 2012.
In Wales, former First Minister Alun Michael was re-elected in South Wales; Dafydd Llywelyn of Plaid Cymru was re-elected in Dyfed-Powys; Andy Dunbobbin gained North Wales for Labour from Plaid; and Jeff Cuthbert was re-elected for Labour in Gwent.
In Warwickshire: Philip Seccombe, Conservative, re-elected. In the neighbouring West Midlands, Labour’s David Jamieson stood down; Simon Foster held the position for Labour.
John Campion was re-elected as West Mercia PCC; the Conservative won comfortably in the first round over Labour, then the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, on a turn-out of 33.8 per cent.
In Wiltshire, after the Conservative PCC since 2012 Angus Macpherson decided against standing again, the county faces another ballot after it turned out that Conservative candidate Jonathon Seed, who stood to become PCC, had a historical driving conviction making him ineligible to be PCC.
Some 202 candidates were in the elections – 145 in the English PCC seats; 21 in Wales; and 36 in the Mayoral contests; typically with a politics or police background. More details on the APCC website.
Picture: by Mark Rowe, police van in front of Birmingham New Street station.
