So, Conservative Nick Alston won the election in a tight contest.
To quote from the Chelmsford City Council website:
Nick Alston received 11,025 second preference votes. Added to his first preference votes, this gave him a total of 62,350 votes.
Mick Thwaites received 18,532 second preference votes. Added to his first preference votes, this gave him a total of 58,664 votes.
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Nicholas Kenneth Alston was therefore elected as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex.
Labour came a decent third. Linda Belgrove came 4th, UKIP 5th, and the English Democrats last. The English Democrats focus on stuff like flying flags may well have lost them credibility.
As for the Lib Dems, we didn’t stand at all – and that seems to have been vindicated. Many ordinary voters didn’t think that this post should be connected to party politics and voted for Mick Thwaites or Linda Belgrove accordingly – or didn’t vote at all.
And one Conservative councillor in Brentwood seems to think the Lib Dems absence was hurting the Tories:
Russell Quirk Russell Quirk ?@russellquirk
Essex Lib Dems may well have stuffed Essex Conservatives by not standing in the #essexpcc elections. Thwaites in thru the back door?
Inside Rochford District Mick Thwaites actually came first, with 3343 first preferences. The Conservatives came second, and Labour a poor third.