Last updated at 16:57, Tuesday, 13 November 2012

Home Secretary Theresa May was in Cumbria today as the Conservatives mount a final push ahead of the police and crime commissioner elections.

Theresa May with Penrith MP Rory Stewart

She was due to campaign in Penrith, alongside Conservative candidate Richard Rhodes, before attending a meeting with farmers and countryside enthusiasts to discuss rural crime.

The Conservatives are pulling out all the stops to get Mr Rhodes elected.

This is the Home Secretary’s second trip to Cumbria in a month – she went to Kirkby Lonsdale at the end of October – and it follows Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to Carlisle on Friday.

Voters go to the polls across England and Wales on Thursday to elect the first police and crime commissioners to replace police authorities.

They will have powers to hire and fire chief constables, and to set policing priorities and force budgets.

First published at 11:05, Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk