Surge of apathy for Commissioner elections

THE - ENTHUSIASM around the election of Wales’s Police and Crime Commissioners reached fever- pitch last Thursday ( May 2) when turnout reached the giddy heights of less than 20%.

The highest turnout in Wales was in the Dyfed- Powys force area, where 19.2% of eligible electors cast their vote.

Of that 19.2%, the winning candidate, Dafydd Llywelyn, got 41%.

In other words, less than 8% of all possible voters supported the victor.

As failures of democracy go, it’s quite something.

The turnout was even more dismal elsewhere in Wales.

In Gwent, the winning candidate, Jane Mudd, received 42% of the votes cast in a 15.6% turnout. Barely 6.5% of all voters supported her.

There are many lessons from such a pitiful turnout, but the key takeaway is that voters simply don’t care about Police and Crime Commissioners.

Despite the poor turnout, some interesting electoral nuggets can be sifted from the rubble.

In Pembrokeshire, a key Labour target in the next General Election, Philippa Thompson barely scraped past the Conservative candidate, Ian Harrison. In Monmouthshire, another Labour target, the Conservatives polled the most votes. The Conservative vote also held up well in Conwy, Powys, Denbighshire, and the Vale of Glamorgan.

In Llanelli, Labour’s tally from the in- person box vote was dismal.

As far as any conclusions can be drawn from such derisory turnouts, they indicate the Conservative vote in parts of Wales is more resilient than national opinion polls suggest.

The campaigns were mostly noticeable due to the lack of campaigning.

It’s as though even the candidates were embarrassed to seek election to a post barely anybody wants.

Labour’s victory dances in North Wales, Gwent, and the South Wales policing areas should be tempered by its failure to mobilise its vote in a crucial electoral year.

Labour should have pushed hard and swept the board to make a telling electoral point. The party couldn’t be bothered. Whether it farmed its resources for the big one or simply took the elections for granted, Labour must improve its showing across Wales and not only where it is strong.

As far as Plaid Cymru goes, Dafydd Llywelyn’s victory shows that it still draws support from its heartlands in y Fro. Mr Llewelyn finished third in Pembrokeshire. The Conservatives did best in Powys.

Votes from Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire carried him over the line.

A suggestion that turnout suffered because the Commissioners’ elections were not held on the same day as a Senedd or local election should be treated with the contempt it deserves.

If the post of Police and Crime Commissioner means anything, it must stand on its own merits. Moreover, turnout in local authority elections and those to the Welsh Parliament is already dire.

In Pembrokeshire, almost a third of current councillors faced no re- election contest. In those wards with an election, the number of turnouts that exceeded 50% was tiny.

Across Wales, the turnout for the last Senedd election was barely 50%. In most Labour constituencies in South Wales, turnout crested around 35%. If that election had a minimum turnout threshold of 55%, there’d be only a handful of MSs, most of them Conservative.

The failure of the political parties to engage voters in the electoral process is endemic and chronic. The Police and Crime Commissioner turnouts signify a deeper malaise and disconnection between governments and the governed.