| Election Name: | 2021 Police and crime commissioner elections |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2016 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections |
| Previous Year: | 2016 |
| Next Election: | 2024 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
| Seats For Election: | 39 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales |
| Election Date: | 6 May 2021 |
| Last Update: | 23:00 |
| Time Zone: | BST |
| Turnout: | 34.1% (7.5%) |
| 1Blank: | Commissioners |
| 2Blank: | Commissioners +/– |
| 3Blank: | Popular vote |
| 4Blank: | Percentage |
| 5Blank: | Swing |
| Party1: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Last Election1: | 20 seats, 29.3% |
| Seats Before1: | 20 |
| 1Data1: | 30 |
| 2Data1: | 10 |
| 3Data1: | 5,067,893 |
| 4Data1: | 44.5% |
| 5Data1: | 15.2% |
| Party2: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last Election2: | 15 seats, 34.3% |
| Seats Before2: | 14 |
| 1Data2: | 8 |
| 2Data2: | 6 |
| 3Data2: | 3,416,531 |
| 4Data2: | 29.7% |
| 5Data2: | 4.6% |
| Leader3: | Adam Price |
| Party3: | Plaid Cymru |
| Last Election3: | 2 seats, 2.6% |
| Seats Before3: | 2 |
| 1Data3: | 1 |
| 2Data3: | 1 |
| 3Data3: | 247,518 |
| 4Data3: | 2.2% |
| 5Data3: | 0.4% |
| Map Size: | 340px |
Elections of police and crime commissioners in England and Wales were held on 6 May 2021, on the same day as the Senedd election in Wales and the local elections in England.[1] This was the third time police and crime commissioner elections have been held (the two previous occasions were in 2012 and 2016). The elections were originally due to take place in May 2020 but were postponed by 12 months in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Turnout was an average of 34.1% across the elections, with Wales having much higher turnout mainly due to the simultaneous Senedd election held across Wales, whereas only parts of England had simultaneous local elections.[3]
The criminal justice system and the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales are reserved (non-devolved) matters, which fall under the control of the UK parliament and government at Westminster. The criminal justice systems of Scotland and Northern Ireland are devolved.[4]
Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) are elected representatives with responsibility for policing in each police area in England and Wales. Each police area — with the exception of Greater London, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire, where the directly elected mayor is the policing authority instead — elects a commissioner every four years.
Police and Crime Commissioner elections use the supplementary vote system.[5]
This was the third set of police and crime commissioner elections to be held. The role was created by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and the first elections were held in November 2012.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017, which amended the 2011 Act, enabled PCCs to take over governance of the local fire and rescue service. PCCs who have taken on these responsibilities are known as Police Fire and Crime Commissioners (PFCCs). There are currently four PFCCs:[6]
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the elections due to be held in May 2020 were delayed until May 2021; this applied to the PCC elections as well as those for local authorities and elected mayors. The postponement was implemented by the Coronavirus Act 2020 which was enacted on 25 March 2020.[11]
The act stipulates that the postponement is to be ignored in determining the years in which subsequent elections are to be held,[12] thus the commissioners elected in 2021 will be in office for three years, not the usual four.
The office of West Yorkshire police and crime commissioner is abolished on the date of these elections, as the role is taken up by the office of the newly elected mayor of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.[13]
| Party | First preferences votes | % votes | Change | Stood | Seats | % seats | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,067,893 | 44.5 | +15.2 | 39 | 30 | 76.9 | +10 | ||
| 3,416,531 | 29.7 | −4.6 | 39 | 8 | 20.5 | −6 | ||
| 1,525,121 | 13.3 | +4.7 | 39 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
| 556,750 | 4.9 | −3.2 | 19 | 0 | — | −3 | ||
| 274,136 | 2.4 | +1.1 | 7 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
| 247,518 | 2.1 | −0.5 | 4 | 1 | 2.6 | −1 | ||
| 123,238 | 1.1 | N/A | 12 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
| 68,895 | 0.6 | N/A | 1 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
| 59,554 | 0.5 | −0.9 | 1 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
| 46,218 | 0.4 | −0.2 | 2 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
| 18,375 | 0.2 | −0.3 | 1 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
| 13,263 | 0.1 | N/A | 1 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
| 7,745 | 0.1 | N/A | 1 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
| 2,615 | 0.1 | N/A | 1 | 0 | — | ±0 | ||
Ron Hogg, the Labour PCC for Durham since 2012, died in office.[14]
The following PCCs chose not to stand for re-election:
Incumbent police and crime commissioners are marked with an asterisk (*).
Paul Williams initially planned to stand for the Labour Party, but he was selected as the party's candidate for the Hartlepool parliamentary constituency by-election that was on the same day as the PCC elections, and therefore withdrew.[25]
An independent candidate, Dan Hardy, originally withdrew from the election after the postponement of the 2020 election meant he was unable to financially continue his campaign. However, in March 2021 he announced he was standing again for election.[27]