JULIA Mulligan has been re-elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire and vowed to put mental health and child safety at the forefront of her second term.

Mrs Mulligan won 53,078 votes in the eight voting districts, while Labour's Steve Howley finished in second place with 34,351. Independent Mike Pannett finished in third place with 30,984 votes, while Liberal Democrat James Blanchard took 13,856 votes. Just over 135,600 people votes were cast.

Mrs Mulligan said the turnout, at 22.47 per cent, was better than for the 2012 election, but "clearly there is still work to be done", and said she would continue to focus on victims of crime, improving public confidence in police, and improving services available to victims and families of child sex abuse.

She said: "When I took up the job in 2012, the first thing I did was meet with victims of crime, and throughout my tenure I have focussed on trying to help vulnerable people of North Yorkshire as best as possible.

"The first thing I want to do is try to make sure children who are sexually abused in North Yorkshire have proper services in place. There are some issues around that. That's my number one priority.

"I also want to meet with patients and professionals working in the mental health service to look at how to continue to improve working with police."

Mrs Mulligan said she also wanted to encourage people to understand what constitutes a hate crime and report them, due to high convictions rates, but low reporting by victims.

The Acting Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Tim Madgwick, said: "I would like to congratulate Julia Mulligan on her re-election.

"The role of Police and Crime Commissioner is an important one, as the Commissioner sets the strategic direction for the Force and holds the police to account on behalf of the public. At North Yorkshire Police we are always striving to provide the best service we possibly can for our communities, so we welcome that constructive focus on the public's priorities for policing.

"We look forward to working with Julia in her next term of office to deliver our shared ambition: which is to provide the public of North Yorkshire with the police service it deserves."

York Press:

Mr Howley (pictured) thanked his team and supporters for their help throughout his campaign, and said: "We gave it our best shot, and visited every corner of the county so I'd like to thank the voters for coming out and putting their faith in us.

"We can continue to collaborate with police, but there is absolutely no need for a full takeover. The only thing that will do is grow the level of bureaucracy. I hope that position will be reconsidered."

Mr Pannett said that, considering his budget, which was taken from his own savings and with family, friends and volunteers to help promote his campaign, he was pleased with the outcome, which saw him take almost a quarter of the votes.

York Press:

Mike Pannett

Mr Pannett said: "The thing for me is it's sent a clear message which I'm really pleased about. To have come second in four of the eight voting areas and pull over 30,000 votes, that's great. I'm over the moon.

"Nearly a quarter of the votes, I'm happy with that. To take on political parties in such a hugely Conservative area... I'm really proud of what we've achieved in just four weeks. No sour grapes on my behalf; the public have had their say."

The results were as follows:

  • Craven (14,713 votes): CON-5,601, LAB-3,743, IND-3,462, LIB DEM-1,344
  • Hambleton (16,447): CON-6,892, IND-5,502, LAB-2,460, LIB DEM-1,312
  • Harrogate (31,084): CON-15,061, IND-5,515, LAB-5,113, LIB DEM-4,403
  • Richmondshire (6,761): CON-3,180, IND-1,660, LAB-1,157, LIB DEM-577
  • Ryedale (8,978): CON-3,801, IND-2,776, LAB-1,506, LIB DEM-719
  • Scarborough (14,974): CON-5,538, LAB, 4,870, IND-3,248, LIB DEM-1,018
  • Selby (13,363): CON-5,150, LAB-4,922, IND-2,253, LIB DEM-814
  • York (29,322)): LAB-10,580, CON-7,855, IND-6,568, LIB DEM-3,669

Indications are that 3,372 voting cards were spoiled.

Including the secondary preferences, Mrs Mulligan won with 65, 018 votes to Mr Howley's 44,759.