Labour wins Northants commissioner post from Tories
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Labour has won the police, fire and crime commissioner election in Northamptonshire.
Danielle Stone will take on the role after she saw off competition from Conservative candidate Martyn Emberson.
The Liberal Democrat candidate, Ana Savage Gunn, came in third place.
The departing Tory commissioner, Stephen Mold, did not seek re-election after he made misogynistic comments about chief fire officer, Nikki Watson.
Ms Stone, a teacher and West Northamptonshire Councillor, received 43,684 votes -an 11.8% increase on Labour’s figure in the 2021 commissioner election.
Mr Emberson, a former chief fire officer, collected 39,740 votes for the Conservatives, down 17.5% on the 2021 figure. Ms Savage Gunn came third with 27,799.
Ms Stone told the BBC: “I’m feeling elated. It was always very uncertain how the result would pan out.
“What’s happened is that the public has voted for change, and we certainly do need that.”
She added that people were “fed up” with the Conservative government, council and commissioner.
The West Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats said they were “extremely pleased with our result and the number of voters who have recognised the positive campaign by Ana Savage Gunn.”
It added: “This result shows that residents are disgusted with how the Conservatives have conducted themselves, bringing the Office of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in Northamptonshire into disrepute.”
The election had been overshadowed by controversies which involved the outgoing Conservative commissioner, Stephen Mold.
He made misogynistic comments about Northamptonshire's chief fire officer Nikki Watson at a meeting.
He apologised, but announced he would not stand for re-election.
He also faced criticism for appointing Ms Watson while she was under investigation following a complaint about her time with Avon and Somerset Police.
After the results were shared, Adam Brown, the Conservative leader of West Northamptonshire Council, said: "Clearly we didn't reach enough voters.
"There was a difficult backdrop to our campaign, but I congratulate Danielle Stone on her election and I'll work constructively with her for the benefit of our residents."
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