Reform UK wins its first ever police commissioner election

Colin Sutton, a former detective, won a Norfolk by-election on 17 July 2026 as a Reform UK candidate, with 32,647 votes and a majority of 14,299. The BBC reported Conservative candidate Matthew Taylor finished second. Turnout was 17%. Sutton is the first Reform UK candidate to win outright. Police commissioners, elected in parts of the UK, set budgets and priorities for local police forces.