A new study by the Electoral Reform Society predicts a turnout of 18.5 percent in November’s police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales.
The number of people taking part in winter police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections in England and Wales is expected to be only 18.5 percent, which is the lowest turnout for British national elections, a new research shows.
According to a study conducted by the Electoral Reform Society (ERS), fewer than one in five eligible adult are predicted to vote in the November 15 ballot, which will cost £75m, due to the errors of the British Home Office in its planning.
Katie Ghose, the chief executive of the ERS, described the coalition government's failure to actively get Britons interested as a "complete shambles”.
She also warned that the failures of the Home Office may prevent police and crime commissioners from doing their jobs effectively if they do not represent their electorates as a result of the record low turnout in the upcoming elections.
"The stated purpose of electing police and crime commissioners was to improve accountability and reconnect the public and the police - an aim which is clearly undermined by a painfully low turnout," Ghose added.
Furthermore, condemning the Tory-led government’s huge cuts to frontline police, Shadow Home Office Minister Baroness Angela Smith said, “The Home Office and Theresa May are once more in a mess of their own making. Understandably they are embarrassed, but they need to get a grip and make the best of a bad job.
Earlier in July, British Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper accused the coalition government of “taking risks with community safety" by cutting nearly 10,000 police officers since the general election in 2010.
SSM/JR/HE
