Sussex police commissioner Katy Bourne re-elected

Conservative Katy Bourne was re-elected as the police commissioner for Sussex

Katy Bourne, Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Sussex, has been re-elected.

Ms Bourne, who has served as PCC for the county since 2012, when the role was created, stood against three other candidates.

Since 2012, PCCs have controlled forces' budgets, set their priorities and have the power to hire and fire chief constables.

The count took place at the Brighton Centre on Sunday.

Ms Bourne said: "I feel really humbled, actually, that the residents of Sussex have put their faith in me to do a fourth term and I promise I'll keep delivering for them."

She added: "I've still got work to do to drive down violence against women and girls, to keep our roads safer, to keep working hard in the rural areas so our rural communities feel safe. There's a lot more still to do."

Before the results were declared, Paul Richards, this year's Labour candidate who came second to Ms Bourne in 2021, had said: "It would take an earthquake to overturn the Conservative's huge majority in Sussex."

Ms Bourne won with 39% of the votes and a majority of 22,993.

She had 122,495 votes, with Labour’s Paul Richards second on 99,502, Jamie Bennett, Liberal Democrat, on 48,923 and Jonathan Kent, for the Green Party, last with 43,105, on a turnout of 24.2%.

Counting is under way at the Brighton Centre

All 37 commissioners have now been declared across England and Wales.

Labour have 17 commissioners, the Conservatives now hold 19 PCCs and Plaid Cymru have one.