It was triggered by the resignation of Shaun Wright, the inaugural South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, who stepped down from the position on 16 September 2014 following the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal.

[9][10][11][12] On 3 September 2014, Sheffield City Council unanimously passed a symbolic motion of no confidence in Wright, calling for his resignation.

[13] (Legislation means 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.

[19] UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, said the result of the by-election "would be a key factor in determining the party's general election strategy in the region in 2015.

"[21] The fifth party to stand in the previous election, the Liberal Democrats, did not contest the by-election following the assessment of their leader and South Yorkshire MP, Nick Clegg, that PCCs are "a failed experiment".