ONLY Monmouthshire saw the Conservative Party topping yesterdays PCC poll with Labour topping the vote in all other areas of Gwent to secure victory for Jane Mudd. 

The Newport council leader was seen as the front runner for the post which has been held by Labour’s Jeff Cuthbert, who is retiring, since 2016. 

Labour currently holds all Parliamentary and Senedd constituency seats in Gwent other than Monmouthshire, where voters went for Tory candidate Hannah Jarvis as their choice to be the person to oversee the police. 

But that wasn’t enough to secure a victory across the area as Labour’s support was enough to secure victory despite a swing to the Tories across Gwent. 

Commissioners were last elected in 2021, on the same day as the Senedd elections, which saw turnout for the Welsh Parliament vote at 46.6 per cent. 

With no other elections on Thursday in Wales turnout for a standalone police and crime commissioner ballots was much lower, with the turnout across Gwent being 15.63 per cent which meant from a total electorate of 442,154 just 69,124 votes were cast. The turnout is only slightly higher than the 14.9 per cent, across Wales, for the first PCC elections in 2012 the only previous time they were held on their own. 

Comparisons with 2021 are difficult as the voting system has changed from one where voters ranked candidates in order of preference to first past the post and as there were more candidates standing. 

Topping the poll in Monmouthshire will be seen as encouragement for the Conservatives, ahead of the UK general election that must be held by the end of January, as Labour had taken the county council there from the Tories at the 2022 local elections. 

Welsh Secretary David Davies will be defending Monmouth at the election and the leader of the council’s Conservative group Richard John said he was encouraged by the result.  

He said: “I think it shows the Conservative voters are sticking with us, we can’t ever taken any vote for granted and have to demonstrate we are listening to the public and delivering on their priorities and David Davies feels that and as councillors we’ll continue to work with him and Peter Fox, Monmouthshire MS in the months before the general election.” 

How the results broke down 

Gwent result

Jane Mudd (Welsh Labour & Cooperative) Elected 28, 476  

Hannah Jarvis (Welsh Conservative) 21,919  

Donna Cushing (Plaid Cymru) 9,864 

Mike Hamilton (Welsh Liberal Democrats) 8,078  

Spoilt ballots: 787 

Turnout: 15.63 per cent 69,124  

By council area  

Labour: 3,057  

Conservative: 1,362 

Plaid Cymru: 1,065  

Liberal Democrats: 554 

Spoilt ballots: 68 

Turnout: 12.17 per cent  

Labour: 7,635 

Conservative: 4,518  

Plaid Cymru: 4,315 

Liberal Democrats: 1,723 

Spoilt ballots: 214 

Turnout: 13.93 per cent 

Labour: 7,905 

Conservative: 6,382 

Liberal Democrats: 2,823 

Plaid Cymru: 2,032 

Spoilt ballots: 217 

Turnout: 16.88 per cent 

Labour: 4,135 

Conservative: 3,004 

Plaid Cymru: 1,284

Liberal Democrats: 1,123 

Spoilt ballots: 107 

Turnout: 13.49 per cent.