A YORK councillor has labelled the Police and Crime Commissioner elections “a stupid waste of time” but said the city’s residents should still have voted in greater numbers.

Last week, Conservative Julia Mulligan won the race for the £70,000-a-year North Yorkshire and York role, which gives the power to hire and fire chief constables and the responsibility for setting the force’s budget.

She beat Labour’s Ruth Potter, but only 12.8 per cent of the York electorate voted and turnout across the county was just 14.3 per cent, with 6,406 people spoiling their ballot papers.

Coun Dave Taylor, who represents Fishergate, said voters who ignored the election or sabotaged their ballot papers must “be aware of the result of their action or inaction”.

He said: “I’ve never been in favour of forcing people to vote and this election is clearly a stupid waste of time which hardly anybody supported – the fact more than 85 per cent of the North Yorkshire electorate didn’t vote is testament to that.

"However, unless they are Conservatives, I can’t imagine they’re very pleased to have a PCC based way out of York and from that particular party. If they didn’t vote, all they can do is moan about it.”