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| Police commissioner elections report low turnout | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Low turnouts have been reported in parts of England and Wales as results start coming through in the elections for police and crime commissioners. | |
| Numerous police areas have confirmed turnouts ranging from 13-20%. | |
| Elections expert Professor John Curtice said it could be the worst turnout ever. Downing Street said people needed time to get used to the idea of PCCs. | |
| In the first two results, Conservative candidates were elected in Wiltshire and Dyfed-Powys. | |
Find | In other developments: |
Findyour results | |
| The record low for a national poll in peacetime is the 23% turnout for the 1999 European elections. | The record low for a national poll in peacetime is the 23% turnout for the 1999 European elections. |
| Indifference and ignorance has surrounded the contests to be Police and Crime Commissioners. | |
| With turnout in the teens in many places, questions are being asked about the credibility of the whole idea and the mandate of those who have won. | With turnout in the teens in many places, questions are being asked about the credibility of the whole idea and the mandate of those who have won. |
| There was a perfect storm for a low turnout. | There was a perfect storm for a low turnout. |
| Firstly, replacing something many people hadn't heard of, police authorities, with something many don't yet understand, police commissioners. | Firstly, replacing something many people hadn't heard of, police authorities, with something many don't yet understand, police commissioners. |
| Secondly, asking people to schlep to the polling station on a miserable day in November. | Secondly, asking people to schlep to the polling station on a miserable day in November. |
| Thirdly, the government deciding not to fund a mailshot to all voters with information on local candidates, encouraging people to look information up online instead. | Thirdly, the government deciding not to fund a mailshot to all voters with information on local candidates, encouraging people to look information up online instead. |
| But make no mistake. This is a very big change to how the police are governed. And removing the right to have a say - democracy - once it has been introduced, is very difficult. | But make no mistake. This is a very big change to how the police are governed. And removing the right to have a say - democracy - once it has been introduced, is very difficult. |
| Turnout in the PCC election was 12.9% in Merseyside, 13.3% in Thames Valley, and 13.5% in Greater Manchester. These figures include spoilt ballot papers. | |
| Professor Curtice, of Strathclyde University, 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." | |
| But policing minister Damian Green told ITV1's Daybreak programme: "The measure of this policy is not the turnout, it's what the police and crime commissioners achieve over the next few years. | But policing minister Damian Green told ITV1's Daybreak programme: "The measure of this policy is not the turnout, it's what the police and crime commissioners achieve over the next few years. |
| "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." | "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 PCCs were a new idea that would need time for people to get used to. | He said the PCCs were a new idea that would need time for people to get used to. |
| Labour's Chuka Umunna called the elections "a total shambles", suggesting the £100m cost would have paid for 3,000 police officers. | Labour's Chuka Umunna called the elections "a total shambles", suggesting the £100m cost would have paid for 3,000 police officers. |
| He added: "At least if you are going to have the elections, organise them properly and don't have them in the middle of winter." | He added: "At least if you are going to have the elections, organise them properly and don't have them in the middle of winter." |
| Turnout reached 27.48% in the PCC election in Bristol, where voters were also going to the polls to choose the city's first directly-elected mayor, but across the Avon and Somerset police area as a whole it dropped to 19.58%. | Turnout reached 27.48% in the PCC election in Bristol, where voters were also going to the polls to choose the city's first directly-elected mayor, but across the Avon and Somerset police area as a whole it dropped to 19.58%. |
| Professor Curtice 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." | "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." |
| In Wiltshire, where 15.3% voted - 78,794 people, excluding those who spoilt ballot papers, out of a total electorate of 514,855 - returning officer Stephen Taylor said some people had complained about a lack of information. | In Wiltshire, where 15.3% voted - 78,794 people, excluding those who spoilt ballot papers, out of a total electorate of 514,855 - 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. | "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. |
| 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." | 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." |