LABOUR’s Clare Moody has won the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner elections and has vowed to be “visible and accountable” to all of the area’s residents.

She has taken the post from the Conservative’s Mark Shelford in a narrow victory and will start the new four-year term on May 9, 2024.

It was a narrowly fought contest with Laboury taking 95,982 votes compared to the Conservative’s 91,006. Turnout was 23.09 per cent, significantly lower than the 30.7 per cent in 2021. 

She said: “It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to serve the people of Avon and Somerset in this role. 

“Now that I am sworn into office, I will be visible, accountable and PCC for all residents of Avon and Somerset.

“The people of Avon and Somerset have communicated their priorities to me. On my time on the doorstep people expressed that they want to see a greater connection to their local neighbourhood police and for their service to address and reduce violent crime, particularly knife crime and MVAWG, and to do all we can to prevent crime.”

Clare Moody comes to this role with a background spanning various sectors, including serving as a Member of the European Parliament and working within No.10 Downing Street under Gordon Brown, she has a deep understanding of public office accountability. Coupled with her current position as co-CEO of an equality and human rights charity, Equally Ours, equips her with the knowledge of institutional workings and effective problem-solving skills.

In their role as PCC, she will be responsible for overseeing the Avon and Somerset police service. They will ensure the police prioritise what matters to local people by listening to their views and producing Police and Crime Plan.

She previously stood for police and crime commissioner in Wiltshire in 2012, coming second.

Before the election, she said she hoped to use the Police and Crime Plan, one of the police and crime commissioners legal duties, to tackle her priorities if she was victorious.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Wherever I go in the region, whether it’s Bath, Bristol, whether its rural Somerset, the thing that’s constantly coming up is that people don’t feel they see the police. We have lost that neighbourhood policing focus.”

Ms Moody said that she wanted to make sure victims “feel that they are heard and listened to.”  She added: “We really have to do more around crime prevention. […] The best way to solve crime is to stop it happening in the first place.”

She said: “Finally, its about standards in policing and making sure Avon and Somerset Police are the best that they can be in upholding the highest standards so the community feel trust in their police — and also so the great police officers and staff that there are can justifiably be as proud in the force that they serve.”

The Avon and Somerset Police Area includes Bath and North East Somerset Council, Bristol City Council, North Somerset Council, Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council.