Former Brighton schoolgirl becomes first police commissioner for Sussex

A Conservative politician who went to school in Brighton has been elected as the first police and crime commissioner for Sussex.

Katy Bourne, 48, a Mid Sussex councillor from Ansty, beat four rivals for the post which replaces the 17-member police authority.

Mrs Bourne, a married mother of two, went to Roedean school in Brighton before attending the University of Wales in Aberystwyth.

Katy Bourne

She picked up 59,635 votes – or 32 per cent of the total – in the first round of the ballot, with 7,146 voters supporting her in Brighton and Hove.

Godfrey Daniel, the Labour candidate, attracted 40,765 votes – or 22 per cent of the total – with 11,082 being cast in Brighton and Hove for the Sussex University graduate.

Ian Chisnall, the Independent candidate from Hollingdean, was fewer than 2,000 votes behind Mr Daniel. He won the backing of 38,930 people – 21 per cent of those who voted – including 6,467 in Brighton and Hove.

Tony Armstrong, the UK Independence Party candidate, managed 29,327 votes – or 15 per cent – including 2,925 in Brighton and Hove.

And 20,579 people – or 11 per cent – voted for former Brighton councillor David Rogers. The Liberal Democrat picked up 2,615 votes in Brighton and Hove.

As no candidate won more than 50 per cent of the first choice votes, the second choice votes for Mrs Bourne and Mr Daniel were counted.

Mrs Bourne had 20,393 second choice votes giving her a total of 80,028 votes while Mr Daniel had 14,837 second choice votes giving him a total of 55,602 votes.

Mr Chisnall came second in 10 of the 13 districts in Sussex and third in Brighton and Hove, Crawley and Hastings.

But fewer than one in six voters went to the polls. The turnout across Sussex was 15.82 per cent – or 195,218 people – and in Brighton and Hove it was just 15.02 per cent. Nearly 6,000 people spoilt their ballot papers.