Hampshire crime commissioner poised to appoint Portsmouth councillor as her deputy

Conservative Donna Jones is set to bring Councillor Luke Stubbs, her former deputy leader at Portsmouth City Council, onto her new team.

Ms Jones, an experienced politician with years on the city council, won an overwhelming majority of 167,242 in Thursday’s election knocking Labour’s Tony Bunday into second place.

Cllr Stubbs currently represents Eastney and Craneswater on the council having retained his seat in the 2018 council election.

He was first elected in 2006, and also sits on the board of the Fitzherbert and Moody charity, Kings Theatre Trust Limited and Mary Rose Trust.

Previous commissioner Michael Lane briefly brought in a deputy – former Portsmouth MP Flick Drummond – before she moved on. Mrs Drummond is now Meon Valley MP.

A Tory source told The News: ‘Luke Stubbs becoming the deputy PCC to Donna Jones is an open secret, but why no application process?

‘He has always been a loyal deputy on the council, but there may be better candidates from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.’

The move comes after home secretary Priti Patel revealed in March details of a review of police and crime commissioners.

Among the recommendations is a plan to mandate ‘the appointment of deputy PCCs to ensure continuity in unforeseen circumstances’.

The same review has led to an upcoming consultation on PCCs taking over the role of fire and rescue authorities.

In a statement to The News on Friday, Ms Jones said: ‘This is only my second day in the job and no decision has been made.’

Outspoken Cllr Stubbs prompted a backlash from opposition parties last March when he said ‘men are victims’ in a council debate on the gender pay gap.

‘No one ever says it because we live in an age of political correctness where you are silenced for saying the truth, but the truth of it is men are victims. Men are not treated fairly in today's world,’ he said.

Speaking to this newspaper on Thursday, Ms Jones aid she wanted to make ‘greater efficiencies’ at Hampshire Constabulary and recruit 600 officers.

Ms Jones takes in a salary of around £86,000 a year as crime commissioner and a deputy would be paid.

Cllr Stubbs did not respond to The News.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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