Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to defend the newly elected police commissioners for England and Wales after embarrassingly low turnout in the first ever elections for the posts. With fewer than 10 percent of voters casting their ballots in some areas, Cameron insisted it would "take time" for the public to get behind the commissioners, who will set a budget and vision for 41 police forces.
"I found, going round the country, people were beginning to get the idea of a local law and order champion. Now they have got them and those people in post will be able to prove their worth," he told BBC television. "My prediction is the turnout will be much higher next time around."
But the Electoral Reform Society said nation-wide turnout looked likely to be even lower than its pre-vote prediction of 18.5 percent, which would make it the worst turnout in British history. "This election has been a comedy of errors from start to finish, and those responsible must be held to account," the campaign group said. "Even in wartime governments have managed to get more people to the polls with half the population under arms or overseas."
Turnout in Stoke-on-Trent in central England failed to reach 10 percent, while one polling station in Wales did not process a single voter. Even in Humberside in north-east England, the presence of one of the few high-profile candidates, former deputy prime minister John Prescott, failed to raise the turnout beyond 20 percent. Charged with setting out a vision and budget for police forces across England and Wales and with the power to sack the most senior officers, Cameron hailed the commissioners as the new public face of crime-fighting. But critics have accused the government of failing to publicise the elections, a flagship manifesto promise of Cameron's Conservative party before it came to power in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats in 2010.
Yvette Cooper, home affairs spokeswoman for the opposition Labour party, said the vote had been a shambles and accused Home Secretary Theresa May of misusing public money that could have been used to create more rank-and-file police. "We warned the government repeatedly that they had the wrong approach and that turnout would be low," said Cooper. "Theresa May and David Cameron didn't listen and it is shocking that they have spent £100 million (124.5 million euros, $158.5 million) on these elections rather than on 3,000 police constables instead.
"Time and again on the doorstep people told us either they didn't have enough information, didn't know the elections were happening, didn't support them or didn't want to go out in the dark to vote." With 12 of the 41 winning candidates announced, five were from Cameron's Conservative party, five were from Labour, and two were independents. Although the role of the commissioners is designed to ensure they will hold the police to account, opponents fear they will attempt to interfere with day-to-day operational policing.
Elsewhere, Labour held on to two safe seats in by-elections in Manchester in north-west England and the Welsh capital Cardiff. The result in a closely watched by-election in Corby in central England, where the Conservatives risk losing a seat to Labour after the incumbent Louise Mensch moved to New York with her family, was due later Friday.