THE first police and crime commisioners for Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire have been elected.

Conservative candidate David Lloyd triumphed in Herts while another Tory, Sir Graham Bright, was victorious in Cambridgeshire. Turnout figures in both counties less than 20 per cent when voters went to the polls last Thursday.

Mr Lloyd, the former chairman of the Herts Police Authority – the body which is being replaced by the new role – beat Labour candidate Sherma Batson by 65,585 votes to 42,830 after second preferences were taken into account.

The 48-year-old said: “I’m delighted to be elected – it means I can change policing and I can continue what I began as chairman of the police authority. I will cut crime and I will make sure more criminals are convicted than in other parts of the country. Hertfordshire is a safe place to live and I’m sure that it will continue now I have been elected.”

Mr Lloyd admitted he was “disappointed at the low turnout” which saw him receive 54,686 first preference votes despite Hertfordshire having a total electorate of 845,253.

He added that he would continue to support “outsourcing” services such as IT and payroll across Beds, Herts and Cambs’ forces to a private firm, a move which puts 1,100 back office roles at risk.

Turnout in Hertfordshire was 14.5 per cent, though this figure was slightly higher in the North Herts district, where 16.8 per cent of registered people cast their votes.

In Cambridgeshire turnout was 15.25 per cent overall, and 15.9 per cent in South Cambs. Winning candidate Sir Graham failed to get an outright majority after the first round of voting, pulling in some 23,731 votes compared to Labour counterpart Ed Murphy’s 17,576, but passed the crucial 50 per cent plus one vote ratio after the second round, where he pulled in 7,909 second choice votes.

“I realise that I will have to be the face of the public and represent the public to the police and I will literally be going flat-out to ensure that I do that,” said Sir Graham.

“To all those people who didn’t vote or who ruined their ballot paper, I don’t hold it against you because I represent all of the public and I will be doing that from tomorrow onwards.”

Both men will have the power to hire and fire chief constables, set policing priorities and decide budgets in the three-and-a-half-year position, while receiving an annual salary of around �75,000.