Andy Dunbobbin re-elected as the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales

Liam Randall, local democracy reporter

Labour’s Andy Dunbobbin has been re-elected as the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for North Wales.

The former Flintshire councillor won with 31,950 votes, defeating Conservative Brian Jones by 5,309 votes.

Former Plaid Cymru deputy PCC Ann Griffith came in third place with 23,466 votes, while Liberal Democrat Richard Marbrow finished last with 7,129.

Local manifesto

Speaking in Wrexham, where the results were announced, Mr Dunbobbin said: “I’m really pleased with the result of the election. I think that’s based on what I’ve put out there.

“I was the only candidate who had a local manifesto which resonated with people, and it’s about building on the success achieved over the last three years. I’m really grateful to the public.”

Mr Dunbobbin was first elected to the role in 2021 after former Plaid Cymru PCC Arfon Jones decided not to stand again.

The PCC’s responsibilities include deciding the budget for North Wales Police and holding the force’s chief constable to account.

The Labour politician said one of his main priorities when he returns to office on Tuesday (May 7, 2024) would be tackling serious organised crime.

Mr Dunbobbin said: “The first thing I’ll be doing is spending some quality time with my wife and children because they haven’t seen much of me over these last couple of months.

“But I will also be looking at implementing what was in my manifesto, bringing that forward and putting it into the Police and Crime Plan.

“My key priority in North Wales is serious organised crime and the intrinsic links into child sexual exploitation, modern slavery, cybercrime and violence against women and girls.”

Low turnout

There was a low turnout in North Wales for the latest PCC election of 17.19 per cent, with the total number of votes cast standing at 89,599.

The turnout figure was down by just under 29 per cent compared to the last poll in 2021, although the previous vote was held on the same day as the Senedd election.

Voters were required for the first time in Wales to bring photo identification to polling stations following a change in the law.

Mr Dunbobbin said he felt the poll being held as a standalone election was partly to blame for the turnout and accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of “bottling” holding a general election at the same time.

When asked if he felt there had been a lack of engagement with the public, he said: “I hear what people are saying and that has become really prominent on the election campaign.

“But what I would say is that I have been out canvassing for quite a number of weeks with parliamentary candidates as well.

“We know at some point that a general election is going to be called but Rishi Sunak has bottled it, because I think a lot of us expected a general election to be held at the same time as this election. That hasn’t happened.

“There are things that have taken place during my term like the introduction of surgeries, a fortnightly newsletter, our social media presence has increased and we’re looking at other avenues as well regarding the business community.

“There’s always room for improvement and that’s what I’ll be wanting to do build upon.”