Derbyshire elects new Police and Crime Commissioner

Conservative county councillor Angelique Foster has been elected as Derbyshire's new Police and Crime Commissioner.

She successfully retained her Dronfield seat on the county council before also securing the role of Derbyshire PCC. 

She beat Labour’s Hardyal Dhindsa, who had held the role since 2016, by a 32,185 majority after securing 149,749 votes.

The new commissioner, who will take up office on Thursday 13 May, has thanked all those who voted for her. 

We have contacted Angelique Foster for further comment. 

In her election campaign, she has vowed to put more police on the streets and put law-abiding citizens at the centre of policing priorities.

High Peak’s Conservative MP Robert Largan has welcomed the result. He said: “I’m really looking forward to working with Angelique to tackle crime in the High Peak and make sure we get our fair share of the 20,000 extra police officers being recruited.”

Hardyal Dhindsa said he has been honoured to serve as PCC and was proud of what he and his colleague had achieved.

He said: “Unfortunately, this time it didn’t go our way but that doesn’t change anything for me. I am still here, and I will always support our communities.”

The two other candidates seeking election were Liberal Democrat Stan Heptinstall and Reform UK’s Tim Prosser.

Mr Heptinstall said in a statement he was pleased to have secured as many votes as he did and thanked those who helped and supported his campaign.

The turnout in Derby City was 33.3 per cent, and slightly higher at 35.6 per cent across the rest of Derbyshire.

Here in the High Peak, the turnout was even higher at 44.1 per cent, and although the vote was close, more voters gave their backing to Labour’s Hardyal Dhindsa.

The new commissioner will serve a three-year term until 2024. This is due to the year-long postponement of the election as a result of Covid-19.

Police and crime commissioners are elected representatives who oversee how crime is tackled in a police force area. Their aim is to cut crime and to ensure the police force is effective.

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