Police Comissioner Elections: live results (From Bournemouth Echo)

4:45pm

Here's Martyn Underhill speaking after he was declared winner of the election:

4:12pm

We're just working on a video interview with winning candidate Martyn Underhill, which we hope to have live shortly.

3:26pm

Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns has said the government will regret introducing the role of PPC and he regrets voting for the bill that introduced the job.
And he said the elections should not have been held in autumn.
“What on Earth were we thinking going to the polls in November? This should have happened, if they were going to have it at all, at the local elections,” he said.
But he claimed Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had not wanted the law and order to be an issue during government elections.
“It was £80million placating Mr Clegg and opening polling stations around the country for the worst turnout in an election in British history,” he said.
He also said it was a mistake not to allow each candidate a free mailshot to electors as happened in parliamentary and European elections. He said this had denied information the seven per cent of people without internet access.

2:23pm

2:16pm

Result formally announced - figures to come shortly. But Mr Underhill says that after a "bloody campaign" now is the time to heal. He says his victory sends a message to govt that the public will not accept political interference in the police 

2:05pm

And from west Dorset - 588 for Nick King and 1667 for Martyn Underhill, whose victory is going to be formally announced in 5 mins

2:03pm

Tables and chairs being packed away now, Martyn Underhill surrounded by jubilant family and getting lots of hugs from partner Debs

1:57pm

Disappointed Conservative candidate Nick King leaves the count before the declaration.

1:56pm

Lib Dem candidate Andy Canning is only other candidate still here, the local pubs must be doing well today

1:54pm

Poole's second preferences - 680 for Nick King and 1534 for Martyn Underhill

and Bournemouth - 705 for Nick King and 1695 for Martyn Underhill

just west Dorset to go

1:53pm

Tension in the Conservative ranks

1:46pm

1:45pm

Purbeck's second preferences

282 for Nick King, 619 for Martyn Underhill and 457 for eliminated candidates

1:42pm

Second preferences from christchurch

170 for Nick King, 463 for Martyn Underhill and 258 for eliminated ccandidates.

and from East Dorset 301 for Nick King and 764 for Martyn Underhill. 586 for eliminated candidates

1:39pm

Second preferences from Weymouth and Portland

309 for Nick King, 1040 for Martyn Underhill and 728 for eliminated candidates

1:35pm

1:35pm

Second preferences in North Dorset

251 for Nick King and 723 for Martin Underhill. There were 415 for eliminated candidates.

1:30pm

It's a very different atmosphere in counting hall now, with virtually all the politicians gone.

it's a bit subdued as we wait to hear the inevitable

1:12pm

Nick King, who has not stuck around to hear the result declared, said Mr Underhill deserved his victory and had worked hard for it.

"I think an awful lot of people didn't understand the premise," he said. "And there was a backlash against parties.

"it shows that someone who's very well funded can overcome the volunteer advantage that we have.

"I really want him to build the links with neighbourhood watches that he has promised and follow through on the promises on volunteers and special constables that he's made."

1:04pm

Rachel Rogers wished Mr Underhill all the best and said she hoped he honoured his obligations to represent all the people of Dorset and to maintain an open, honest and transparent connection with the people that voted for him - and those that didn'tdidn't

1:00pm

12:59pm

Counting of second preferences now underway

12:54pm

Andy Canning warned that Martyn Underhill would have an "uphill struggle" in the job because of lack of media coverage and public interest.

He added that the panel that will scrutinise Mr Underhill and his work was dominated by Conservatives and could hinder his efforts

12:51pm

But the local Labour Party are pleased with their share of the vote in Weymouth and Bournemouth.

And both defeated candidates said they enjoyed the campaign and found it a great experience

12:49pm

12:48pm

Rachel Rogers, Labour candidate, said: "frankly I think the government has failed the public entirely here. They've failed to publicise the election effectively, they've held it at the wrong time of year and they've wasted money on these elections at a time of police cuts."

12:45pm

Interesting facts about the spoilt papers, there were loads with comments stating the process was a sham and lots with rather explicit drawings on them. Instead of putting a cross, many drew something else entirely...

12:40pm

Andy Canning, Lib Dem candidate, said: "I think there's an overwhelming rejection of the concept of Pccs - the low turnout and high number of spoilt ballot papers and the fact that the non party candidate is going to win are signs that people didn't want this in the first place."

12:36pm

So the Labour and Lib Dem candidates are out of the contest now and the second preferences on their votes are now being counted.

Interestingly, neither are hanging around. I think Martyn Underhill will be on the stage on his own when he is declared the winner

12:26pm

12:11pm

That petition we mentioned earlier "My non-vote was a No vote" is now getting five new signatures a minute.

12:07pm

Electoral returning officer Paul Morris is going to formally announce the stage one results in 5 minutes

12:06pm

Final voting figures from East Dorset

Canning 893

King 4540

Rogers 940

Underhill 6476

12:03pm

If you're not registered to comment and you have something to add, you can email newsdesk@bournemouthecho.co.uk

11:48am

Bournemouth's vote is in and it's clear it will now go to a second round, where second preferences are counted.

Canning 1511

King 6543

Rogers 2988

Underhill 7329

11:46am

And the telltale piles of votes...

11:45am

11:45am

11:44am

Some pictures from Richard Crease at the count: 

11:43am

It will be interesting to see whether the other candidates share a stage with Martyn Underhill when he is declared the winner. There's definitely a bit of tension there

11:42am

11:41am

On a separate note, there seem to be quite a lot of spoilt ballot papers - some people have definitely take the opportunity to make a stand

11:39am

West dorset has voted like this

Canning 2763

King 4952

Rogers 1720

Underhill 7120

11:37am

We are waiting on results from Bournemouth, East Dorset and West Dorset. Martyn Underhill would love to win it in the first round.

11:34am

11:34am

11:28am

It seems pretty clear now that Dorset's first PCC will be Independent Martyn Underhill. Just a question of whether he can do it in the first round.

I think there's been a backlash against political candidates, and Martyn's police experience has clearly gone down well with voters

11:27am

For those interested, here's what the Dorset Police Federation has to say about the election and turnout:

Vote counting for Dorset #PCC Election has started. 16.8% turnout - very poor http://t.co/7prDT7qK

— @DorsetPoliceFed 16 November 2012

RT @MrCliveC: I imagine more people are voting in TV Polls: XFactor - "I'm a Celebrity" etc. - than did in yesterday's £100m #PCC elections debacle

— @DorsetPoliceFed 16 November 2012

RT @MrCliveC: Lesson from #PCC debacle: Govt can listen to ThinkTank Policy Exchange but should do the opposite of what they advise to avoid embarrassment

— @DorsetPoliceFed 16 November 2012

11:21am

11:21am

Poole's results

Canning 1958

King 5820

Rogers 2078

Underhill 8219

11:10am

Christchurch results

Canning 417, King 2061, Rogers 635, Underhill 3548

11:08am

Again, Martyn can't quite get to 50% but very close

11:07am

Provisional results from north dorset

Andy Canning, 782

Nick King, 3583

Rachel Rogers 837

Martyn Underhill 4074

11:03am

Martyn Underhill is picking up an awful lot of votes  but getting 50% of the first preferences is a big ask. It's definitely possible though

11:00am

Provisional results from Weymouth and Portland - Andy Canning, lib Dem, 788, Nick King, Conservative, 1643, Rachel Rogers, Labour, 1711 and Independent Martyn Underhill 3809

10:51am

Votes from Purbeck region are as follows -851 for Andy canning, 2023 for nick king, 713 for Rachel Rodgers and 2850 for Martyn Underhill

10:43am

10:41am

The general feeling is it will go to a second round. Candidate needs 50% of votes after first count to be declared winner at that stage. If they fall short of this figure, second preferences will be counted

10:32am

People avidly monitoring the ballot papers believe it's close between Conservative Nick King and Independent Martyn Underhill

10:29am

Poole's turnout was 16.073%, Christchurch's 17.338%, East Dorset 18.276%, 18.110% in North Dorset, 18.335% in Purbeck and 15.925% in Weymouth and Portland

10:22am

I've got some details on turnout, it ranges from 13.32% in Bournemouth to 21.56%  in West Dorset. I think everyone knew it would be low but Bournemouth's figure is particularly disappointing

10:21am

The BBC are reporting at 16.8% turnout for Dorset.

10:20am

10:14am

10:07am

10:03am

I've just arrived at the count, it is a veritable hive of activity. All the votes are being sorted and it seems like every politician in Dorset is here watching proceedings.

10:01am

9:52am

Our first prediction from the comments...

9:52am

I've just been pointed in the direction of this petition, created by a man from Dorset. It says: 

The undersigned believe that the current Police and Crime Commissioner positions, as enacted in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act that became law 2011, are fundamentally flawed.

Since there was no way of expressing this during the election we, the undersigned, were forced to:

* not vote
* spoil our ballot
* vote for the candidate that would do the least harm

We wish to express that this was not an act of apathy, or an uninformed electorate, but a deliberate decision.

As a short term action by the government we would prefer a return to the old Police Authorities that, while flawed, are far superior to the new PCC roles.

779 people have signed it so far. 

9:46am

For those of you who live over the border in Hampshire, the count there has also started

Counting has begun in Southampton for Hampshire and IoW Police Commissioner #pcc Low turnout so result soon? http://t.co/E0vgZ5vk

— @BBCPeterH 16 November 2012

9:43am

Lowest reported turnout so far is I think Coventry, at a paltry 11 per cent. A councillor there is reporting that only 6 per cent of that was at the polls with the rest postal votes. And two polling stations had no voters at all.

9:42am

Rachel Rogers posted last night that turnout in her home turf of Weymouth and Portland was 15.9%.

9:41am

Mel Vass is on her way to the count now, by the way, so we'll have updates from Lighthouse soon.

9:40am

Interesting fact: we've called in apathy in our story about low turn out today, but the piece we wrote yesterday about the elections was in fact the most-read of the day - which suggests it's not that many people don't care, it's that they really are opposed on principle. 

The big question is, will that make it harder for the elected PCC to do their job?

9:37am

16.8 per cent comparatively not bad - but the turnout for the Branksome East byelection was nearly 30 per cent, which may have had a knock on effect.

9:33am

9:32am

9:31am

9:26am

9:23am

Just reading that in Greater Manchester, where there was also a byelection, turnout was just 13.5 per cent

9:22am

Here's what Labour's Yvette Cooper has said about the elections in general:

As the government's flagship police reform policy, these police and crime commissioner elections have been a complete shambles.

e warned the government repeatedly that they had the wrong approach and that turnout would be low. Theresa May and David Cameron didn't listen and it is shocking that they have spent £100m on these elections rather than on 3,000 police constables instead.

The Electoral Reform Society has described the Government's handling of these elections as a "comedy of errors."

ime and again on the doorstep people told us either they didn't have enough information, didn't know the elections were happening, didn't support them or didn't want to go out in the dark to vote.

Theresa May and David Cameron need to explain why they have spent so much money on elections that have had such low public support, why they provided so little public information and why they chose to hold elections in November too.

9:20am

9:20am

9:19am

9:17am

We had an interesting discussion in Echo Towers yesterday: non-voters arguing that a low turnout would send the message to the government that no-one really wants/understands/is interested in PCCs and the other side arguing that in four years time when this term is finished, the role will be so established that the low turnout this time round will be forgotten.

9:14am

9:02am

9:02am

8:58am

Asked about the low turnout in Wiltshire yestershire, the new PCC Angus Macpherson said the election was "less a mandate and more a large job interview". Thoughts?

8:56am

8:56am

8:55am

8:54am

Good morning from Echo Towers. Mel Vass will be your guide through today's count for the Police and Crime Comissioner election but it seems that turn out was dismal yesterday.

One polling station saw 50 people all day and another only 25 out of a potential 1500.  We've been told by one voter that when they cast their vote at 6pm they were 55 and 56 out of 1500. 

So, we don't expect the count to take a terribly long time, just based on the number of ballot papers.