Labour’s Dan Price is the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire.

He beat incumbent Conservative John Dwyer with the result being announced at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes this afternoon. Paul Duffy finished third for the Liberal Democrats after votes were counted from across all Cheshire local authority areas.

Mr Price, an engineer by trade, was a Warrington Borough councillor but stood down in 2019. He is the vice chair of Great Sankey Parish Council.

Mr Dwyer, a former Assistant Chief Constable for Cheshire, had held the commissioner role since 2021 when he defeated Labour’s David Keane. It was his second stint in the role, with his first tenure lasting between 2012-16 before losing to David Keane. Today's result sees the pendulum once again swing back to Labour.

Overall results were: Dan Price (Lab) 86,279, John Dwyer (Cons) 65,836, Paul Duffy (Lib Dem) 27,342.

The results by council area were:

Halton

Price 13,547 Dwyer 3,746 Duffy2,592.

Cheshire East

Price 23,786, Dwyer 26,798, Duffy 9,446.

Cheshire West and Chester

Price 24,547 Dwyer 19,903 Duffy 6,947.

Warrington

Price 24,395, Dwyer 15,384, Duffy, 8,352.

Overall turnout for Cheshire overall was 21.7 per cent, 21.4 per cent in Halton, 30.2 per cent in Warrington, Cheshire East was 19.3 per cent, and Cheshire West & Chester was 19.48 per cent.

Mr Price said his priorities in post include more officers and a focus on community policing, as well as introducing new technology and modernising the force.

He said: "I'm hugely honoured. I'm so thankful for the public of Cheshire and I think fundamentally the public are fed up of the of the lies and the scandals, they want change. They want politicians who serve with integrity and honesty and selflessness and that's exactly what I intend to do, and get on with delivery my priorities that the public have so clearly supported as soon as possible."

Mr Dwyer said: "If the focus was on local issues alone I'm sure I would have won today because we performed so well in the three years I've been in post.

"My view is that this reflected the national picture. People are disillusioned with the Conservative Party and I think what we've seen with the low turnout is that people just haven't bothered. They're fed up with politics and I think I paid a penalty as a result of it."

The role of elected police and crime commissioner was introduced in 2012 to replace the old police authorities. Their role is to hold the police to account. Their responsibilities include hiring and firing the Chief Constable, as well as setting policing budgets and objectives.