By Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

Conservative Donna Jones has been re-elected as Hampshire and the Isle of Wight crime commissioner following the May 2 election.

 

 She admitted securing a second term was “even more victorious” given the difficult set of election results for her party across the county.

Labour claimed nine PCCs from the Tories across England, while the party in government also lost hundreds of council seats after residents went to the polls on Thursday, May 2.

Ms Jones bucked these trends as she stormed to a significant majority over second-placed candidate Becky Williams (Labour) in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight contest.

The former leader of Portsmouth City Council received 175,953 votes, with her nearest competitor gaining 106,141 votes.

Speaking after the declaration at Southampton Civic Centre on Friday, May 3, Ms Jones said: “I just want to say a huge thank you to the people of Hampshire and Isle of Wight for putting their trust and confidence in me.

“I’m the first police and crime commission in the police force area to be re-elected for a second term.

“I’ve got almost a 20 per cent majority here in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – the fifth largest police force in the country, representing two million people and hundreds of thousands of businesses. That’s very humbling. It is a big job. There is a lot of work still to be done and the work for me starts tomorrow.”

Discussing what it meant to secure a second term as PCC, having been elected in 2021, she said: “It’s been a tough day for the Conservative Party nationally in the local elections, mayoral elections and police and crime commissioner elections, so this had made today’s win even more victorious for me but I don’t take it for granted.

“I really do appreciate that people across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have recognised the work that I have done but there is more to come. The continuation of front counters and new police stations opening over the next six to eight months.

“I will then be rolling out phase two of my estates plan to see more police stations and front counters opening across the rest of Hampshire and Isle of Wight over the next four years – my term of office.”

The re-elected PCC, who will swear her oath of officer on Wednesday, May 8, said she was absolutely determined, alongside Chief Constable Scott Chilton, to get a thousand more police officers “as quickly as we can”. She said 650 had already been delivered and money was already aside in the current budget for an additional 75 officers to be recruited.

Ms Jones added: “That’s happening now but a crackdown on shoplifting, on anti-social behaviour and rural crime – those three things are going to feature highly in my priorities as well as making our roads safer.” Liberal Democrat Prad Bains polled third with 92,843 votes, while Don Jerrard (The Justice and Anti-Corruption Party) received 40,961 votes.

The overall turnout for the election was 28.38 per cent. There were 415,628 valid votes, with 6,337 rejected ballots.