The police commissioner elections have come under fire for low turnouts
The
first police and crime commissioner (PCC) in England and Wales has been
elected in Wiltshire, as vote results are awaited in 40 other police
areas.
Conservative Angus Macpherson was elected as Wiltshire's PCC
ahead of the Labour candidate after second preference votes were
counted.
The first PCC elections face likely controversy over reported low turnouts.
Turnout was 12.9% in Merseyside, 13.5% in Greater Manchester, and some West Midlands councils reported 12-13%.
In Gwent, where turnout was 14.3% overall, one polling station in Caldicot saw a turnout of just 4%.
Elections expert Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said there were indications of the worst voter turnout ever.
Policing minister Damian Green said the PCCs were a new idea that would need time for people to get used to.
Damian Green: "Whenever you do something new, people in this country tend to be slow to warm up to it"
"Millions of people voted yesterday - nobody ever voted for the
chair of a police authority so there's clearly a democratic mandate
that wasn't there before," he said.
"The measure of this policy is not the turnout, it's what the
police and crime commissioners achieve over the next few years," he
also told ITV1's Daybreak programme.
But Labour's Chuka Umunna said: "It has been a total shambles
and the £100m spent on it could have been spent on 3,000 police
officers.
"At least if you are going to have the elections, organise them properly and don't have them in the middle of winter."
Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said: "I've been out
on the doorsteps and people did not want to go out in the cold and they
didn't want to go out in the fog, they didn't have enough information
on what was happening."
Lessons to learn
The Electoral Reform Society has branded the government's handling of the elections a "comedy of errors".
The society predicted a turnout of 18.5%, which would be
below the previous record low in a national poll in peacetime of 23% in
the 1999 European elections.
Residents of Wiltshire tell the BBC's Jon Kay why they did, and didn't, vote
In Wiltshire, where 15.3% - 78,794 people out of a total
electorate of 514,855 - voted, returning officer Stephen Taylor said
some people had complained about a lack of information.
"People have emailed and contacted us saying that they didn't
know enough about the candidates in order to be able to make a choice,
and obviously that's something I have no control over," he told BBC
News.
He added: "It would be good to have some analysis afterwards and see whether there are any lessons to be learned."
Mr Macpherson said: "I think it's incumbent on all police
commissioners as we all take office to actually develop this job and let
people know what it is."
Continue reading the main story
What will police commissioners do?
- PCCs will be responsible for appointing chief constables
- They will set local policing priorities and report annually on progress
- They will set the force budget and community safety grants
- They will be overseen by police and crime panels
- See our Q&A for more details
Professor Curtice said: "It looks
pretty likely that this will be the worst turnout in any nationwide set
of elections ever and therefore will raise questions about whether this
whole exercise was worth it in the first place."
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a lack of "real
choices" in an election made it difficult to persuade the electorate to
vote.
"The candidates were all saying, 'We want more police on the
beat, we want to tackle anti-social behaviour, we want the police to be
more efficient.' It is very difficult to find an obvious difference
between them in terms of strategic direction."
By-election results
Continue reading the main story
Cardiff South and Penarth by-election
- Stephen Doughty (Lab) 9,193
- Craig Williams (C) 3,859
- Bablin Molik (LD) 2,103
- Luke Nicholas (PC) 1,854
- Simon Zeigler (UKIP) 1,179
- Anthony Slaughter (Green) 800
- Andrew Jordan (Soc Lab) 235
- Robert Griffiths (Comm) 213
Lab maj 5,334
Meanwhile, Labour has held its
seats in by-elections in both Manchester Central and Cardiff South and
Penarth, and is hopeful of taking a seat from the Conservatives in
Corby.
In the Manchester Central parliamentary by-election, Labour
candidate Lucy Powell (11,507) won with a majority of 9,936. Liberal
Democrat Marc Ramsbottom (1,571) came second and Conservative Matthew
Sephton (754) came in third.
The turnout of 18.16% is believed to be the lowest in a UK parliamentary by-election since World War II.
Ms Powell said: "With this result Manchester Central has sent
this Tory-Lib Dem government a message - a clear message that we think
their policies are wrong and unfair."
In Cardiff South and Penarth, Labour's Stephen Doughty won
with 9,193 votes, Conservative Craig Williams came second with 3,859 and
Lib Dem Bablin Molik was third with 2,103. Labour's majority was 5,334
and the turnout was 25.65%.
Continue reading the main story
Manchester Central by-election
- Lucy Powell (Lab) 11,507
- Marc Ramsbottom (LD) 1,571
- Matthew Sephton (C) 754
- Chris Cassidy (UKIP) 749
- Tom Dylan (Green) 652
- Eddy O'Sullivan (BNP) 492
- Loz Kaye (Pirate) 308
- Alex Davidson (TUSC) 220
- Catherine Higgins (Respect) 182
- Howling Laud Hope (Loony) 78
- Lee Holmes (People's Dem) 71
- Peter Clifford (Comm Lge) 64
Lab maj 9,936
Mr Doughty said his victory was a "condemnation" of the policies and priorities of the Westminster government.
The result in the Corby by-election, which is seen as a
crucial mid-term test of David Cameron's premiership, is expected at
about 13:00 GMT.
If Labour wins, it would be the first time in 15 years the party has taken a Tory seat at a by-election.
The contest was triggered by the resignation of Louise
Mensch, the high-profile former member of the Commons media select
committee, who stood down after just over two years to relocate to New
York with her family.
Mrs Mensch had a majority of less than 2,000 in a
constituency that has regularly swung between Tory and Labour over the
past 30 years.
Voters in Bristol have also been to the polls to choose the city's first directly-elected mayor.
