Labour selects Cambridge councillor as crime commissioner candidate

The party has selected Nicky Massey - who represents Abbey ward on Cambridge City Council - to contest the election in May.

Mrs Massey, who is a member of the county's Police and Crime Panel which scrutinises the work of the crime chief, has pledged to “restore trust” to the role.

Her comments are aimed after previous commissioner Jason Ablewhite quit the role four days after he had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct following to Cambridgeshire police that he allegedly sent an explicit photo to a woman on Facebook.

The IOPC investigation is ongoing and Mr Ablewhite - who has not commented publicly on the allegation - has not been arrested or charged with any offence.

Mrs Massey said: “I’ll restore public confidence and will put the focus back on tackling crime.”

She has also pledged to tackle what she calls the “knife crime emergency”, adding: “Our bobbies on the beat are doing their best but we need police numbers back up to full strength and for policing to be responsive to the needs of local communities.”

According to her Cambridge Labour profile, the councillor is one of six children who left home at 17 to start work, before becoming a mum at 21.

Speaking about how she got into politics, she said: "After nearly getting hit by a bus with my children I campaigned for a crossing on Station Road. I managed to get the developers to pay for a temporary crossing which was still there three years later.

"I finally realised I had a voice, that I could make a difference and decided to enter local politics to start changing things for even more people."

She lists her proudest achievement as her work on domestic abuse and domestic violence, stating: "I am a survivor."

Mrs Massey is the second confirmed candidate after the Conservatives chose Darryl Preston - a senior policy manager at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners who previously spent 14 years as an officer with Met Police then 11 as a detective at Cambridgeshire police, including nearly six as a senior detective.