New Tory West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner says public confidence is key

The Tory candidate, 39, from Bewdley, was announced as the winner after the second round of counting, which saw him beat off the challenge of Labour's Daniel Walton.

Mr Campion won with 83,619 votes to Mr Walton's 55,162.

Speaking afterwards at Shrewsbury Sports Village, the he said his first task would be appointing a new chief constable to replace David Shaw, who leaves the post in July.

He said: "My priority will be the chief constable's replacement.

"An enormous part of the way we are policed is leadership so my priority will be understanding the options available and going from there."

The new commissioner said he would also be advertising to appoint his deputy.

Mr Campion said that ensuring policing is visible and that people are not only safe, but also feel safe, are key aims.

He said: "We live in a safe area in West Mercia and one of my core goals in the next few years is to ensure people also feel safe.

"A core part of my three-point plan is about reassurance. One is visibility but the second part is about issues being taken seriously.

"If you live in a remote isolated community and there are thefts from your fuel tank, and you are not seeing them being investigated and people being brought to justice, then you lose confidence."

West Mercia Chief Constable David Shaw said that one of Mr Campion's biggest challenges would be to ensure the public feel they have a voice in policing.

He said: "A big challenge for him is it is a vast area. One of the most important roles he can do is be the voice of the public so we are able to respond to their thoughts and concerns, and just covering that area is a big challenge.

"He has also got the very important job of considering succession planning. I leave at the end of July. I am doing that so the new PCC has their own leadership in place."

Mr Campion was elected after the second round vote having not reached the 50 per cent figure required to be declared the outright winner in the first count.

The first round had seen Mr Campion take the overall vote with 64,514, and Labour's Daniel Walton in second with 40,870.

Ukip's Peter Jewell was third with 32,719, Independent Barrie Sheldon fourth with 27,986, the Green Party's John Raine fifth with 14,323, and Margaret Rowley of the Liberal Democrats sixth with 12,915. Out of a total of 198,892 first round votes, 5,566 were spoiled.

The turnout across West Mercia was 21.27 per cent, and in Shropshire was 16.9 per cent.

The result saw Mr Campion and Mr Walton through to a second round where both first and second preferences were counted, with the Conservative being declared the winner.

Following the victory, Barrie Sheldon, from Telford and a candidate for the post and former deputy PCC, said he believed the turnout showed that the public has still not accepted the political role of police and crime commissioners.

Mr Sheldon said: "Should it be an elected post? I think again people have shown in how they have turned out for the election that they do not want it.

"I have walked the streets in the last eight weeks, spoken to hundreds of people and most of them have told me they are uncomfortable with party politics in policing."

He added: "I wish the new commissioner the best of luck but I think they will have a very steep learning curve."

The Shropshire vote saw John Campion polling 12,957, Barrie Sheldon 7,115, Daniel Walton 6,580, Peter Jewell 6,082, John Raine 2,897, and Margaret Rowley 2,530.

Meanwhile, in Staffordshire, Matthew Ellis has been re-elected as PCC after he edged a tight battle with George Adamson.

With none of the five candidates winning 50 per cent plus one vote needed to win outright in the first round, the counting went to a second round.

Tory Mr Ellis and Labour's Mr Adamson went through to the final round after the other three candidates – Harold Gregory, Paul Woodhead and Natalie Devaney – were eliminated.

It meant that the second preference votes on their ballot papers were redistributed among the two remaining candidates.

Mr Ellis polled 54,753 votes in the first round to Mr Adamson's 46,383, but the leader of Cannock Chase Council could not make up the gap of 8,370.

But Mr Ellis polled exactly 75,000 votes after the second round of voting compared to Mr Adamson's 66,515.

"It was a little bit of suspense at the end but I am delighted to win and now it is important to continue the good work that we have been doing and finish the job that I have started," Mr Ellis said.

The turnout was 21.57 per cent, although in Stoke just 15 per cent of the electorate voted.

The poor showing in Stoke is said to have been a major contributory factor to Mr Adamson's loss.

He needed to win big there to have any chance of ousting Mr Ellis whose backing in the Tory shires and the key town of Stafford carried him through. Mr Woodhead was upbeat having won a place on Cannock Chase Council the previous evening as a Green councillor for Hednesford South.

Meanwhile it has been confirmed that Sue Arnold will continue as Mr Ellis's deputy.