Former councillor quits job to join race for police commissioner post

Kash Walayat, 41, wants to be Labour’s candidate when voters in South Yorkshire go to the polls in November.

He told the Yorkshire Post that he had been unable to declare his intention publicly until now because he held a senior position at the Department for Education.

Senior civil servants are barred from seeking elected office, so Mr Walayat has handed in his notice.

He said: “The job I’m giving up pays a similar amount to the commissioner role, so I am not doing this for the money.

“Some people may say I am taking a risk, but I want to help the community and I think I have the right qualities.”

Mr Walayat, who currently sits on South Yorkshire Police Authority as an independent, served as a Labour councillor in Sheffield in the 1990s.

He has worked in the public sector for more than 25 years, with roles at the Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. He was awarded the OBE in 2008 for his work to help children and young people.

Mr Walayat is one of four Labour members seeking the party’s nomination for the election.

Former South Yorkshire Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes and the police authority’s vice-chairman, Shaun Wright, are also known to be on the shortlist.

Labour members are expected to select their candidate in the summer.

The elected commissioner will be accountable for how crime is tackled in the county and will have the power to hire and fire chief constables.

Mr Walayat said that maintaining neighbourhood policing would be his first priority.

He added that he also wanted to see the force make better use of satellite navigation technology to help officers respond to incidents more quickly.

“I have much support,” he added, “not only in Sheffield but across all the divisions in the force area.”