Rupert Matthews re-elected as Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner

There was a disappointing turnout when Leicestershire and Rutland residents voted yesterday (Thursday) with just one-in-five people (21.70 per cent) casting a vote.

Mr Matthews, the Conservative candidate, polled 62,280 votes, finishing just 860 ahead of Labour opponent, Rory Palmer.

The electorate put the Green candidate, Aasiya Bora third with 23,649 votes, only 1,608 ahead of the Liberal Democrat’s Ian Sharpe.

Fizza Askari polled 7,104 votes for the One Leicester party.

Speaking after today’s declaration, Mr Matthews said: “I am honoured to have been re-elected as Police and Crime Commissioner to serve our diverse community for the next four years.

“I now have been given the opportunity to complete and build upon my mandate to put the law abiding public first and protect victims of crime.

“I look forward to continuing to engage with those I am proud to represent each and every day.”

The Commissioner will take up the role officially on Thursday May 9 and will serve a four-year term until May 2028.

A major focus of his campaign was to put more resources into neighbourhood policing to make officers more visible and to increase the number of police stations.

He has also pledged to continue to tackle rural crime after being instrumental in the setting up of the force’s dedicated Rural Crime Team.

His manifesto also included a commitment to prioritise resources to combat knife crime, speeding and dangerous driving plus retail crime.

He said he would also maintain his drive on crime prevention and making the night-time economy safer.

When the voting is broken down into the different areas, Mr Matthews again polled the highest number of votes (3,312) in the Melton district, with Mr Palmer second on (2,422) and Mr Sharpe came in third with 857.

Turnout was even lower than the countywide figure, with just 17.73 per cent of Melton residents voting.

There was similar outcome in neighbouring Rutland, with Mr Matthews polling 2,701 votes, Mr Palmer attracting 1,441 votes and Mr Sharpe 926. Turnout in Rutland was 18.63 per cent.