Tony Hogg new Devon & Cornwall Police & Crime Commissioner

After a painfully drawn out count, with Devon and Cornwall the last in the country to declare, our new Police and Crime Commissioner has been announced as former naval officer Tony Hogg (Conservative).

The Leader of Devon County Council, John Hart, has welcomed Devon and Cornwall's first Police and Crime Commisioner.  He said: "I congratulate Tony Hogg on his election and I look forward to working with him to help reduce crime and to work jointly for the benefit of our communities within Devon."

The result was declared following a count of second preference votes. In second place was North Devon Council Leader Brian Greenslade, who although a LibDem Councillor stood as an independent in the PCC elections.

The record low turnout means that in reality Tony Hogg only got 4% of votes from the potential electorate, bringing into doubt whether or not he has a real mandate for taking on the role.

According Cornwall Council, which oversaw the vote, turnout in Devon and Cornwall, where 1.3 million were eligible to vote, was just 15.1%.

Nigel Rabbitts, Chairman of Devon & Cornwall Police Federation, said on BBC Spotlight this evening "I think the communities that have elected not to turn out are sending a clear message to the Government that they don't believe they have a mandate and I believe the Crime Commissioner whoever is elected today actually won't have a mandate to make any real firm sweeping decisions."

Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw also told BBC Spotlight "This has been a complete fiasco. £100 million of taxpayers money spent at a time when we are cutting police numbers by 20 per cent for a 15 per cent turnout in an election that nobody wanted - the government needs to go back to the drawing board."

David Cameron said numbers were always going to be low when holding an election for the first time. "It takes time to explain a new post," the prime minister said, and he predicted voting numbers would be "much higher next time round". This will undoubtedly be true, as the next PCC elections are due to take place in May to coincide with County Council elections. 

Katie Ghose of the Electoral Reform Society said: "This is not a reflection of voter apathy. The public have been given no reason to vote, and no information on either the role or the candidates. This election has been a comedy of errors from start to finish, and those responsible must be held to account."

Two of the ten candidates, solicitor Graham Calderwood from Cornwall and Plymouth Businessman Tam Macpherson, have lost their deposits because they didn't get enough votes. Both were standing as independents.