Tories’ joy at election ‘Blue wash’
GRIM FOR LABOUR AS VOTERS DELIVER VERDICT ON POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONERS
AS well as county council elections, Police and Crime Commissioner candidates were also up for election on Thursday – and the results made grim reading for Labour.
The Tories recorded a ‘Blue wash’,’ in the words of Derbyshire County Council leader Barry Lewis,’ sweeping Labour candidates or incumbents from office.
In Staffordshire, Conservative Ben Adams won with 136,024 votes representing a 55.71 per cent share. Labour’s Tony Kearon had 67,060, Independent Deneice Florencejukes 19,102, Michael Riley (REFUK): 5,504 and Richard Whelan (Lib Dem) 10,690 (4.38%). There were 5,784 spoilt papers.
Incumbent Matthew Ellis has stood down after serving in the role since it was established in 2012.
His term was extended by a year as elections were originally postponed during the coronavirus crisis.
In Derbyshire, the Conservatives claimed victory. Angelique Foster earned 149,749 votes, with Labour’s Hardyal Singh Dhindsa receiving 117,564.
Mr Dhindsa, who was elected PCC in 2016, had earlier retained his Normanton ward seat during Derby City Council’s elections.
Liberal Democrat Stan Heptinstall and Reform UK’S Timothy Prosser were eliminated in the first round of votes.
Mr Adams said: “I can’t wait to get started and ensure that local people’s concerns and priorities are heard and acted upon.
“I know taxpayers want their hardearned money used to support the frontline police and fire and rescue effort, and that this is felt directly by communities.
“I will be looking for more opportunities to share resources between police and fire.”
He will take up the role when he signs an oath to both services on Friday.
In the Derbyshire election, Liberal Democrat Stan Heptinstall and Reform UK’S Timothy Prosser were eliminated in the first round of votes.
After the first round of voting, Ms
Foster was in the lead with 137,884 votes, with Mr Dhindsa on 104,700.
As neither candidate had received more than 50% of the votes, the two lowest-polling candidates were eliminated and second preference ballots counted.
The turnout was 35.74 – up slightly from the last PCC election in 2016.
Derbyshire
County Council’s leader Barry Lewis congratulated the winner on Twitter.
He wrote: “It’s a total Blue Wash! We have a Conservative Police & Crime Commissioner for #Derbyshire.
“Well done @Cllrangelique.” Derbyshire Chief Constable Rachel Swann said: “I look forward to working with Angelique.
“The PCC’S role of governance, scrutiny, budget setting, and working with partners and local communities is crucial and I know that this is important to Ms Foster.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Hardyal Dhindsa for his dedication to the role. He has show passion and dedication to the role and has worked tirelessly with the force and partners to help reduce crime in the county and make Derbyshire a safe place to work, live and visit.” Conservative Rupert Matthews won the race to become Leicestershire’s police and crime commissioner, ousting the incumbent, Lord Willie Bach.
The Tory took back the commissioner’s office at police headquarters in Enderby which had been occupied by Labour since 2016. Former East Midlands MEP Mr Matthews’ victory consolidates a dominant performance in the local elections with the Tories also gaining their largest majority at Leicestershire County Council.
He won the election with a majority of 33,335 over Labour candidate Ross Willmott.
Mr Matthews said he was pleased to have won but said he felt tired after a campaign extended by a year when the original election last May was postponed because of Covid-19.
He said: “It’s been a long old slog. I was slated to be the Conservative candidate 20 months ago.”
He added: “But I’m absolutely up for this and ready to go.
“My manifesto, which has been endorsed by the public, will be a real blueprint for what’s going to happen over the next few years to make everyone safer.
“Our county – and city – compared to other places with a similar sort of profile, are really surprisingly safe.
“But just because you are good, it doesn’t mean you can’t get better.
“I want to live up to Sir Robert Peel’s adage ‘the police are the public and the public are the police.’ and get the police out there in the community.
“We are going to get on top of crime and really get on the front foot against the criminals.”
The election was run under a supplementary vote system where the electorate was asked to pick first and second preferences for police and crime commissioner (PCC).
Mr Matthews came agonisingly close to winning on first preferences alone but with 121,252 first preference votes he fell 0.74 per cent short of the majority
Labour’s Ross Willmott, a former Leicester City Council leader, got 81,898 first preferences - 33.28 per cent.
Liberal Democrat candidate James Moore was a distant third on first preferences and was eliminated from the race.
Councillor Willmott was successful in the party’s Leicester stronghold but fell behind beyond the city boundaries.
He did not attend the election count at the Hermitage Leisure Centre in Whitwick.
Dr Moore said: “It’s commiserations in the sense that we didn’t get through to the final round but we did make an improvement on the figures.
“We’ve got our vote up quite significantly and that’s an achievement.”
Mr Matthews takes over from Labour’s Lord Willy Bach served one term as the PCC – though it was extended by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic and pollin gwas cancelled last May.
The PCC’S role of governance, scrutiny, budget setting and working with others is crucial
Rachel Swann