CONSERVATIVE candidate Anthony Stansfeld has been elected as the first ever Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner.

The vote went to second preferences after nobody secured 50% or more in the first round.

Chief Constable Sara Thornton said: “I would like to congratulate Mr Stansfeld on his election victory and look forward to working together on behalf of the people in the Thames Valley.”

Tim Starkey, Labour's contender, missed out after the vote went to a straight contest between the two.

For more coverage and details of voting see our live blog HERE.

Turnout has been extremely low, with less than 14 per cent of eligible votes taking part in the ballot across Thames Valley.

In the second round Anthony Stansfeld got 18,227 votes, giving him a total of 94,238.

In an exclusive interview with the BFP this evening, Mr Stansfeld gave a brief outline of his vision for Buckinghamshire policing.

He said: “Buckinghamshire is a hugely varied area with major towns and at the same you have a hell of a lot of large rural areas.

“The priority is going to be different for the towns compared to the countryside.

“The fundamental crime for most people is household burglary. The thing that leads up to it is anti-social behaviour and if you don't stop that the ones usually involved with that progress to burglary.

"The other issue is of absolutely persistent offenders who commit crime after crime. It's keeping them under control.

"One thing is clear, crime is usually committed by a very small number of people but they go on doing it time and time again and we have to tackle that.”

Speaking about the criticism about low turnouts, he said: “If you have a stand alone election for the first time for something new you will always get a low turnout.

“It's compounded by being in the depths of the winter when you have dark evenings and dark mornings, people come back from work and they're tired and they want to put their feet up in front of the TV rather than go to a cold and dark polling station.”

Next election will have a far higher turnout, he believes.

Asked if it concerned him that he had been elected by such a small number of voters, he replied: “I'm not concerned, I'd be far more concerned if I hadn't been elected.”

He said he will be “jumping in the deep end” next week.

On Tuesday he will visit the office for the first time as the new chief before meeting with all senior officers at 11am.

He added: “It's a tremendous privilege to be elected as the first police and crime commissioner. I feel relieved and excited by the prospect.”

Tim Starkey got 13,772 second preferences, giving him 70,403 votes overall.

He tweeted: "Thanks to all who voted for me! We fought a very positive campaign, gutted couldn't quite make it."

The summary of results

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Election results in Thames Valley are as follows:

Anthony Stansfeld, Conservative – 94,238 votes (after two stages)

Tim Starkey, Labour – 70,403 votes (after two stages)

Geoff Howard, Independent – 31,716 votes

John Orrell Howson, Liberal Democrats – 20,511 votes

Barry Cooper, UKIP – 19,324 votes

Patience Tayo Awe – Independent – 14,878 votes

The result was formally declared at Aylesbury Vale District Council, where the Police Area Returning Officer for the Thames Valley is Andrew Grant, the Chief Executive. A total of 226,512 votes were cast giving an overall turnout of 13.3 per cent.