Crime commissioners staying on after elections postponed over coronavirus
Police and crime commissioners from across the region have announced they are staying on for another 12 months after this year's elections were postponed due to coronavirus.
West Midlands PCC David Jamieson and Staffordshire PCC Matthew Ellis were both due to retire in May, but have now changed their plans and will remain in position until 2021.
All of May's PCC elections, as well as local elections and mayoral polls, have been put back 12 months in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Mr Jamieson, who has served for six years, said the "extreme circumstances" the West Midlands currently finds itself in mean a change of leadership would "not be sensible".
"It was no secret that I intended to retire for the third and final time in May, having first being elected to public office in 1970," he said.
"In these extreme circumstances however I shall be staying on to support West Midlands Police in their contribution against Covid-19.
"The coming period will be one of difficulty for the force, in which a change of leadership would not be sensible.
"I believe that the government has taken the right decision to delay the elections for a year. It would have been impractical and unsafe to do otherwise."
Mr Jamieson was a Labour MP for 13 years and served as a government minister under Tony Blair until stepping down in 2005. He was also a Solihull councillor.
Mr Ellis, who was first elected as Staffordshire's Conservative PCC in 2012, said: "It's not what I wanted, but I am certainly not going to walk away from it because I don't agree with the alternative of an unelected person taking up an elected position.
"Clearly cancelling the elections is the right decision and because that has happened, I will stay for the next 12 months."
