THE police, fire and crime commissioner election in Cumbria has been won by the Labour Party candidate, following yesterday's poll.

The party's candidate David Allen has taken the role from the Conservatives on a difficult night for the latter party nationally.

Following the overnight count at Whitehaven, the result was declared at around 4.30am, later than expected.

The turnout was just under 21 per cent, slightly up on the Lincolnshire PCC vote [retained by the Tories], where it was just under 19 per cent.

The full results were:

David Allen (Lab and Co-op) 38,708
Mike Johnson, (Conservative), 24,863
Adrian Waite (Lib Dem) 18,100

On Twitter, the Penrith and Solway Constituency Labour Party wrote: "A resounding win for David Allen and Labour in Cumbria.

"Congratulations to David and all the Labour members who put in the hard slog to get this strong result.

"A clear majority and, most importantly, a clear mandate from the Cumbria electorate. Thank you to all who voted."

Nationally, local elections have seen a good night for Labour so far. Among a growing number of local seats, the party has also won the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election.

More to follow.