Leicestershire's police and crime commissioner (PCC) insists neither he nor his policing plan have changed following his defection to Reform UK. Rupert Matthews said he believes his manifesto, not the party he stands for, was the reason he was re-elected to the office last year. 

That plan is his "contract with the public", Mr Matthews said, and he still intends to implement and "honour" that. His comments follow the announcement today (Monday, August 4) that he had left the Conservatives to join Reform. The move makes Mr Matthews the party's first PCC. 

The LDRS spoke to Mr Matthews following the announcement to ask what it means for policing in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The answer, it seems, is very little will change in the short-term. 

A PCC is an elected official responsible for ensuring local policing meets the needs of the community. They also set their force's budget and how much residents pay in a police precept on their council tax bills. 

Mr Matthews said: "I stood on my manifesto last year, which was a pretty comprehensive manifesto covering every aspect of what a police and crime commissioner does. I got voted in, so my view is that that manifesto got the endorsement of the voting public. 

"We've been, we spent several months turning it into the police and crime plan, which, of course, has to be phrased differently from the manifesto and has to have all the right bits and bobs in it, and we're now in the process of implementing that. 

He added: "My view is that's my contract with the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The fact I'm now in a different political party doesn't affect that. I've got a contract with the people and I'm going to honour my side of that contract. I'm going to implement the manifesto that they all supported and voted on." 

Among the promises made by Mr Matthew at last year's PCC election was a focus on neighbourhood policing and action to "drive crime down" through prevention rather than reactive policing. He also pledged action to "stamp out" violence against women and girls and to tackle anti-social driving and use of e-bikes and e-scooters. 

If little is proposed to change on the frontline of local policing, then, why has Mr Matthews defected? 

The PCC said he wanted "a little bit more support" to take a "robust line on woke-ist type of stuff" and believes he will get that from Reform. He claimed he had recently had a conversation with Government officials over plans to start inspecting the ethnic makeup of local forces. 

He added: "That's the sort of thing that I'm going to get more support from Reform to try and tackle and instead of spending a huge amount of money trying to alter the ethnic makeup of the police force when there's no evidence for exactly how far we should take it and what should be done, I'm going to be spending the money making sure that the, people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland actually get a decent police service, not all this woke nonsense we're getting from some senior bureaucrat in London." 

Leicester is among the most diverse areas in the country while Reform is well-known for its hardline stance on immigration. We asked the PCC how he would balance community needs and party politics. 

He claimed: "A lot of people in Leicester from the ethnic minorities are telling me they're fed up with the illegal immigration into this country, too. They and their families went through all the hoops to come here legally, they've settled in Leicester, they've started businesses in Leicester, they're working in Leicester, they're paying their taxes in Leicester […] 

"The targets here are the people who are criminals, people who have arrived here illegally, the people who are just freeloading on the rest of us. The ethnic minorities in Leicester are concerned about illegal immigration and people taking the mickey just as much as anyone else is. 

"They've got no reason to worry. I'm still the same person I was yesterday. The police and crime plan is exactly the same as it was yesterday." 

Calls have also been made locally for Mr Matthews to trigger a by-election. His former party said people who voted for him as the Conservative candidate last year would "feel let down" by his defection and it was therefore "democratically correct" for the public to have a say on whether he should continue in his post. 

Mr Matthews said he disagreed with this, however, claiming his manifesto was one he wrote, not one written by the party. He added: "I didn't take any instructions from Conservative head office. 

"It was what I felt was right for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The public voted me in. That is my contract with the public, with whatever party badge I wear." 

If Reform were to win the next General Election, then, what would Mr Matthews want to see change for policing? He said he wants to see the focus shift from reactive to proactive policing. 

The PCC added: "Already in Leicestershire, I've set up a prevention directorate within Leicestershire police force which is dealing exactly with preventing crime from happening in the first place. A lot of that comes down to policing communities being part of the community, so the people in the community know not just who their local beat officer is, but how they can support the police, how the police can support them. 

"That's going in the opposite direction to where British policing has been going in for about the past 20 years or so. Reform are in the process of drawing up their taskforce to look at how the criminal justice system needs to be reformed and I'm looking forward to playing my role in that. Come the general election, there'll be a manifesto, and I'm really hoping to be able to influence reform in my direction."