Colin Sutton, a former detective with three decades of experience, has been elected as the first police and crime commissioner for Norfolk representing the Reform UK party. Sutton, who led numerous high-profile murder investigations during his career, won the by-election with 32,647 votes. He secured a majority of 14,299 votes, surpassing the Conservative party candidate, Matthew Taylor.
The by-election was necessitated by the resignation of Sarah Taylor, who had initially been elected as a Labour Party commissioner. She resigned from the party and became an independent after protesting plans to scrap the police and crime commissioner role in favor of devolution and a combined mayoralty for Norfolk and Suffolk. Voter turnout for the election was 17%, which was the second lowest recorded for a police and crime commissioner election in the county. This is anticipated to be the final such election unless another commissioner vacates their post.
Upon his victory, Sutton expressed his joy and commitment to his new role. "Policing has been my life and it is the best job. I believe I can make a difference and make things better," he stated. He pledged to begin his work immediately, stating he would "get to work on Monday" and would "repay the trust the people of Norfolk have put in him."