Philip Allott

Philip Allott
North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
In office
13 May 2021 – 16 October 2021
Preceded byJulia Mulligan
Succeeded byZoë Metcalfe
Personal details
BornDecember 1959 (age 64–65)
Political partyConservative

Philip David Allott (born December 1959) is a British politician who served as the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, England. He was elected in May 2021, taking over the job from fellow Conservative Julia Mulligan on 13 May. He resigned on 15 October 2021 and left office on the following day.[1]

Life

Allott attended King James's School in Knaresborough.[2] He studied law at Leeds Metropolitan University as a mature student, and is married with a son and a daughter.[3] Allott was a leader of the Conservatives on Harrogate Borough Council.[4] He had previously served in the Territorial Army, and at the age of 25, was elected Mayor of Knaresborough, the youngest mayor in the country at that time.[5] He had unsuccessfully stood in several general elections for the Conservative Party, contesting the Leeds West constituency in 1987, Brent North in 2001, Bolton West in 2005, and Halifax in both 2010 and 2015.[6][7][8][9]

Allott has written a book, The Donkeyman, detailing his father's business in breeding and racing donkeys in the 1950s and 1960s.[10]

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

In May 2021, Allott stood as the Conservative Party candidate in the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election and was elected after winning 55.69% of votes in the second round.[11][12] He assumed the role on 13 May, replacing the previous commissioner, Julia Mulligan.[13] Prior to being elected, he was the managing director of a public relations and marketing agency.[3][14]

In October 2021, he was criticised for his remarks on the murder of Sarah Everard. She had been abducted, raped, and killed by a police officer who had falsely arrested her in March. Allott had urged women to be "streetwise", to "learn a bit about that legal process".[15] He initially defended his comments as he intended to "inform women far better of their rights" before later apologising. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon Julian Smith, and The Northern Echo and The Yorkshire Post newspapers called for his resignation.[16][17][18][19] The North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, which lacks the ability to remove the commissioner, passed a unanimous vote of no confidence in him on 14 October, calling on him to "resign immediately". Allott initially refused, responding that he thought he would be able to "regain trust",[20] but later the same day tendered his resignation from his post.[21]

His successor was elected at the 2021 North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner by-election.

References

  1. ^ "Commissioner Vacancy - Executive Stewardship and Acting Commissioner Proposals" (PDF). North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  2. ^ Minting, Stuart (5 May 2021). "North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner: This is who you can vote for". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b ""Keep your hands-off North Yorkshire Police" says Conservative Candidate for the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner". Harrogate Informer. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Elections 2021: Conservatives win North Yorkshire commissioner election". BBC News. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Philip Allott, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner candidate for North Yorkshire". Harrogate Informer. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Ex-mayor to stand for Tories". infoweb.newsbank.com. 20 January 2004. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  7. ^ "North West". The Daily Telegraph. 31 March 2005. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  8. ^ Parsons, Rob (20 September 2019). "North Yorkshire Conservatives choose public relations expert Philip Allott as their candidate to be police and crime commissioner". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Halifax parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Donkey's years". York Press. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Elections 2021: New police, fire and crime commissioner elected". York Press. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Election result: Philip Allott is the new Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner". Craven Herald. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  13. ^ Minting, Stuart (13 May 2021). "New county police and fire chief to review speed camera system". The Yorkshire Post. p. 13. ISSN 0963-1496.
  14. ^ "About Philip Allott". North Yorkshire Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Sarah Everard murder: Police boss Philip Allott urged to quit over comments". BBC News. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  16. ^ Havery, Gavin (1 October 2021). "Sir Keir slams Philip Allott over Sarah Everard comments". The Northern Echo.
  17. ^ "PCC must consider his position over his incredible remarks about Sarah submitting to her murderer". The Northern Echo. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  18. ^ Burn, Chris (12 October 2021). "Senior North Yorkshire Tories call on Philip Allott to quit as commissioner over Sarah Everard remarks". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Why Philip Allott must resign as North Yorkshire crime chief over Sarah Everard response – The Yorkshire Post says". The Yorkshire Post. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Police commissioner loses vote of no confidence - but won't resign". York Press. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  21. ^ "Philip Allott to resign as Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner". Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
Political offices
Preceded by North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
May – October 2021 		Succeeded by