New Northants police, fire and crime commissioner 'proud as punch' to win election

Labour’s Danielle Stone has won the race to be elected as Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

It marks the first time that Labour has won the police and fire chief role in the county, after a disastrous day of local and police election results for the Tories across the country.

Ms Stone, a longstanding councillor for Northampton, defeated Tory rival Martyn Emberton and Liberal Democrat Ana Savage Gunn.

The final results were:

Martyn Emberton (Conservative) – 39,714

Ana Savage Gunn (Liberal Democrat) – 27,779

Danielle Stone (Labour) – 43,684.

There was a turnout of just 19.62 per cent among Northamptonshire’s electorate of 571,758. There were no local council elections.

In her acceptance speech, Ms Stone said: “I would like to thank the electorate for placing their trust in me and to have result, I want to thank them all very much indeed.

“I want to thank the huge army of Labour activists that have been working with me and for me from Corby to Brackley for months and months and months.

“We’ve been door-knocking, talking to as many people as we possibly can because we’ve all really wanted to understand how people are thinking, how they’re feeling, what they want from this office and it is something I will continue to do.

“I will continue to do that door-knocking with the Parliamentary candidates for Labour because to make my job successful I need a Labour government to support me and I will be out at those doors helping to make sure that that happens.

“Above all, I want to go into that office on May 9 ready to create the changes that the people have voted for. People have voted for change and we really badly need it.

“We need an office that’s close and accessible to the people, that is responsive to the people, that represents all our diverse communities in the development of a policing plan and a plan for the fire service.

“We need to make sure that the people who work in those services are properly looked after, that their morale is lifted because we have got opportunities fir transformation and change that people really want.

“I’m so proud to be given this privilege, I can’t tell you. It hasn’t happened by magic, it’s happened by hard work and really deep listening to what people really want and I am absolutely proud as punch to be here.”

After concluding her speech, Ms Stone was sworn in as commissioner.