Shaun Wright

Shaun Wright (born January 1968) is a British politician. He was the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012 to 2014. He was the first person to hold the post, to which he was elected as a Labour Party candidate on 15 November 2012. As he held a senior position in child services during the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal, he faced continual calls to resign. This resulted in his resignation from the Labour Party on 28 August and from his post on 16 September 2014.

Political career

Local government Before becoming the PCC, Wright was a councillor on Rotherham Council. He was in charge of children's services for five years from 2005; he also sat on the Police Authority of South Yorkshire Police.

Police and Crime Commissioner Wright was elected to the newly created post of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) as the Labour Party candidate on 15 November 2012. This replaced the police authority of which he had been a member. Wright's responsibilities included holding the force to account and setting spending plans, while his powers included the ability to hire and fire chief constables.

Child Sexual Abuse Scandal In August 2014 he faced calls to resign from the post of PCC after an inquiry into a massive case (1,400 children and counting) of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, including from the Labour Party, the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary, Theresa May. After being given an ultimatum by Labour to either resign from his post or face suspension from the party, Wright resigned from the Labour Party on 28 August 2014, retaining his post as South Yorkshire's PCC as an Independent. Under current legislation, there is no power of recall for PCCs and the only way they can be removed is if they commit misconduct in public office, or are convicted of an offence with a custodial sentence of two or more years.

Following Wright's refusal to stand down, his deputy, Tracey Cheetham, stated that she could not support him, nor could she continue as his deputy, despite having herself no connection to the Rotherham abuse scandal. On 28 August, she resigned, publicly calling on Wright to do the same. On 3 September 2014, Sheffield City Council unanimously passed a symbolic motion of no confidence in Wright, also calling for his resignation. On 16 September 2014, Wright announced his resignation as Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire.