Peter McCall ‘highly unlikely’ to contest next election

Peter McCall told the police, fire, and crime panel on Wednesday that he will most likely will not contest the upcoming election which is scheduled to take place in May.

Before the vote to raise the precept, Chief Constable Rob Carden said: “In the commissioner’s last year of doing this as he steps away in terms of his tenure, regardless of the outcome of the decision (to raise the precept) which I will respect either way, I think the support we’ve had from the commissioner’s office has been fantastic.

“It’s been a joy, we’ve been very well supported, and I think to have the best performance in the force’s history is something to be proud of.”

The Conservative PFCC was first elected as the commissioner in 2016 and was re-elected in 2021 after winning 53.8 per cent of the vote in Cumbria beating Liberal Democrat candidate Loraine Birchall as well as Labour and Co-Operative party candidate Barbara Cannon.

On April 1, Mr McCall took on governance responsibility for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) following local government reorganisation in Cumbria which saw Westmorland and Furness Council and Cumberland Council replace the former county council as well as the district councils.

In the panel meeting Mr McCall thanked councillor Bill McEwan (Ormsgill and Parkside, Labour) for chairing the police, fire, and crime panel.

Mr McCall said: “I would particularly thank you as a long-standing member and having chaired for a significant amount of time for the fact that you have chaired in a non-partisan way and that is extremely important.

“Policing should not be politicised; I am very grateful that you have steered us away from that because at the end of the day policing, and now fire, should in my view, continue to be a public service that we all jointly want to make better and serve our communities better. And the best way to do that is to keep politics out of it, which you have done, and I am very grateful for that.”