2021 Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Election

On Thursday 6th May 2021, there will be an election to decide who will be the new Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the Avon and Somerset Police area. The election will be held across the Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire council areas.

The inaugural Avon and Somerset PCC election was held on 15th November 2012.

The current PCC, Sue Mountstevens (Independent), announced in January 2020 that she would not be standing for re-election in 2020.

Note: This election was originally due to take place on Thursday 7th May 2020 but was postponed due to the impact of the coronavirus emergency.

Useful links:

The Notice of Election was published on Monday 22nd March 2021 (see below) and nominations will be accepted until the deadline on Thursday 8th April 2021.

The deadline for voter registration is Monday 19th April 2021. If you are unsure whether you are registered to vote, please contact the SGC helpline on 01454 863030.

Where to vote

Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm.

Your allocated polling station is shown on your poll card, which you should have received by post.

However, you don’t need your poll card to vote. If you are registered to vote, but you don’t have your poll card, you can go to the polling station and give them your name and address.

Find your polling station (Where Do I Vote)

Notices

9th April 2021: Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll
22nd March 2021: Notice of Election

The role

Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for holding the Chief Constable and police force to account on the public’s behalf. They oversee how crime is tackled in their area and aim to make sure that the police are providing a good service.

The role includes:

Meeting the public regularly to listen to their views on policing
Producing a police and crime plan
Setting out local policing priorities
Deciding how the budget will be spent
Appointing Chief Constables and dismissing them if needed

The candidates

Find out more about the candidates: Candidate Questions & Answers (reproduced from the May 2021 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine)

See also the official booklet of candidate statements published by the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

The voting system

This election uses the supplementary voting system. You will have two votes – one for your first-choice candidate and one, if you wish, for your second-choice candidate.

Determining the winner

All the first choices are counted, and if one candidate has received more than 50 percent of the votes, that candidate wins the election.

If no candidate has more than 50 percent of the vote:

The two candidates with the most first-choice votes remain in the election and all other candidates are eliminated.
The ballot papers for the eliminated candidates are then checked. Any second-choice votes for the two remaining candidates are added to their first-round totals. The candidate with the most votes wins.