Shropshire's police and crime commissioner tells of relief over election result

Bill Longmore said Labour's proposals to abolish police commissioners would have been "like throwing the baby out with the bath water" and insisted PCCs delivered "better value for money".

He said Thursday's election result had provided "a real platform to push on" and said several initiatives would be happening across the region over the coming year.

Mr Longmore, who lives in Hanwood, near Shrewsbury, and is the commissioner for the West Mercia area, was one of 41 police and crime commissioners elected in November 2012 as part of Home Secretary Theresa May's plan to give the public a greater say in how police forces were run. The commisioners were given responsibility for policing in their area and to hold chief constables to account, as well as being handed control of a combined £8 billion budget.

But while David Cameron's new Government intends to retain the commissioner model, Labour had pledged to axe the role to save £50 million which they had planned to reinvest in frontline policing.

Mr Longmore said he was surprised to see a majority Government returned to Westminster, but said it would provide much-needed "stability and consistency" over the next five years.

He said: "I'm pleased that the votes have given us a definitive decision. Whichever way the polls had gone, a majority government means the country should have some stability and consistency for the next five years.

"From my perspective, we now know that the role of police and crime commissioners will continue. That uncertainty is over, and myself and my counterparts nationwide can really push on now and build on the work we have done to date.

"I would be first to admit that there are still some wrinkles to iron out regarding the role of PCCs, but the proposal to abolish the posts would have been like throwing the baby out with the bath water. I honestly believe that the PCC system has real merit.

"PCCs deliver much better value for money, give the public a much bigger and more transparent say in local issues, and have helped forge a huge number of strong partnerships and relationships involving the public, charities, local authorities and other organisations. It would have been very short-sighted, and purely based on party politics, for any party to have abolished the role.

"We were expecting further spending reductions for local policing, whoever had come into power, but despite that, the election result gives us a real platform now to push on, and I know there will be some very good initiatives happening in West Mercia.

"Over the next 12 months, I will continue my focus on rural and business crime, getting our 'prison produce' company started and really improving offender rehabilitation, working on projects to prevent and reduce crime to reduce the burden on police, and planning my PCC summer showcase in Shrewsbury on July 5

."