Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner candidates confirmed

The final list of candidates for the post of Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner has been confirmed.
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Nominations for the post have now closed and four people are contesting the election which will take place on Thursday, May 6.

It is the fourth time that voters in Sunderland, North and South Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead and Newcastle have gone to the polls for a commissioner. The first election was held in November 2012.Labour’s Kim McGuinness was elected in an extraordinary election in July 2019, triggered by the resignation of sitting commissioner Dame Vera Baird to take up a national post as Victims’ Commissioner.

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Dame Vera had triumphed in commissioner elections in both 2012 and 2016 and won by a majority of 121,766 four years ago.

Polling will take place on Thursday, May 6Polling will take place on Thursday, May 6
Polling will take place on Thursday, May 6

The overall turnout in 2012 was 16.8 per cent and in 2016 the total number of votes cast grew to 32.1 per cent but turn-out was down sharply at the last election.

Just 155,990 people across the region cast their vote two years ago, the lowest turn-out of any such election.

Ms McGuinness saw off Independent candidate Georgina Hill in a second preference count after Conservative Robbie Moore and The Liberal Democrats' Jonathan Wallace were eliminated in the first round of voting.

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The number of people who voted in Sunderland two years ago was 30,160 (14.5 per cent). In South Tyneside, the figure was 15,1590 (13.2 per cent) and the number in Northumberland was 33,682 (13.7 per cent).

Counting under way at the last Police and Crime Commissioner election in July 2019Counting under way at the last Police and Crime Commissioner election in July 2019
Counting under way at the last Police and Crime Commissioner election in July 2019

But this year’s vote is taking place alongside local council elections across the region, which should guarantee a bigger turn-out.

There are more than one million registered electors in the Northumbria Police Area, including more than 300,000 postal voters.

Anyone not yet registered to vote is urged to get on their local electoral register or visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Registered electors are reminded that they can also apply for a postal vote and should do so by no later than 5pm on Tuesday, April 20.

The candidates are:

Cara Kim McGuinness, Labour and Co-operative Party

Duncan Carlyle Crute, The Conservative Party Candidate

Julian Richard Kilburn, Independent

Peter James Maughan, Liberal Democrats

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