Conservative Ben Adams has been re-elected as Staffordshire's police, fire and crime commissioner.

Mr Adams will serve a second, four-year term as commissioner, after narrowly defeating Labour's Alastair Watson in Thursday's election by fewer than 3,400 votes.

Following his victory, he thanked voters across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire for returning him to office and vowed that he would work to keep them safe over the next four years. But his majority and overall number of votes were both well down on his first election victory in 2021, as Labour's vote share increased, in line with the national trend.

And fewer than one-in-five voters across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire took part in the election, which saw the lowest turnout since the first commissioner election in 2012. Mr Adams received 73,500 votes (45.6 per cent), with Mr Watson getting 70,128 (43.5 per cent). Alec Sandiford, the Lib Dem candidate, was a distant third with 17,666 votes.

This election was much closer than the Covid-delayed poll three years ago, in which Mr Adams got more than twice as many votes as his Labour rival Tony Kearon, with a higher turnout. Mr Adams acknowledged the low turnout, but suggested that national politics had played a part in the swing away from the Conservatives in Staffordshire.

He said: "I'm just really pleased that the residents here in Staffordshire have a sense of the hard work I've been putting in. They really do respect and value their police and fire services. And I think they recognise that they're both on a journey to becoming good in the next few years.

"They see more officers in the street. They're appreciating the reduction in antisocial behaviour and hopefully we'll be working together to reduce accidents on our road and get stuck into some of the organised crime that's emerged since the pandemic – things like vehicle crime. We have an excellent chief constable excellent and chief fire officer. I'm pretty sure people are going to feel as safe as I want them to be.

"I think, given the national picture at the moment, I'm immensely proud that the people in Staffordshire have given me the opportunity to build on what I started. And I'm going to make sure their trust in me is full returned."

Overall turnout was just 19.2 per cent – down on the 28.9 per cent recorded in 2021 – suggesting increasing levels of apathy towards the commissioner elections. Just 15.4 per cent of voters in Stoke-on-Trent bothered to take part in the poll, the lowest turnout in the county. Turnout was higher in Tamworth (26.1 per cent) and Cannock Chase (24.8 per cent), where council elections also took place on Thursday.

Mr Adams suggested that the turnout was down on 2021 due to there not being a county council election this year.

He said: "I think there's two things to the low turnout. Firstly, it's lower than it has been when there's been other elections. In my own view, this election should be run alongside the local elections. I think that would help us to get a message to every household. I've tried my absolute hardest to do that. But with limited campaign funds, and despite the efforts of all the volunteers, you can't get to every house – you're dealing with the equivalent of 12 MPs' constituencies.

"I think the people that do take an interest will go to the ballot box. And so there's an indication that those who are watching carefully have influenced the outcome. And of course, it's not about how big the the turnout is. It's about who got more votes."

The commissioner elections this year have operated under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, unlike in previous years where the supplementary vote (SV) system was used. The SV system, where voters' second preferences are counted if no candidate gets over 50 per cent of first preferences, could have meant a different result in Staffordshire this time, with just 2.1 percentage points separating Mr Adams and Mr Watson, and Mr Sandiford getting 11 per cent of the vote.

Mr Adams said he preferred FPTP and suggested that some voters had been confused by the SV system in previous elections.

The police, fire and crime commissioner is responsible for setting the budgets for Staffordshire Police and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, which add up to £314.8 million this year. The PFCC also appoints Staffordshire's chief constable and chief fire officer, sets policing and fire and rescue objectives, and commissions services to reduce crime and support victims, but they are not permitted to interfere in operational matters.

Full result for the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election:

• Ben Adams (Con) – 73,500 (45.6%)
• Alec Sandiford (Lib Dem) – 17,666 (11%)
• Alastair Watson (Lab) – 70,128 (43.5%)
• Rejected ballots: 2,055
• Turnout: 19.24 per cent