Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson has confirmed he will be standing for re-election this May.

Mr Nelson, who was elected in 2021, has been confirmed as the Conservative Party candidate for the elections on May 2nd.

He says he wants to continue his drive to make Gloucestershire Constabulary one of the best forces in the country.

Mr Nelson said: "When I was elected, I promised I would make Gloucestershire safer, and get a grip of how the Constabulary was being run. I'm proud of my extensive record of achievement, showing that I have delivered on all my manifesto promises.

"I promised I would recruit 300 more police, and I have funded more than 400 extra police officers, police community support officers and police staff to make sure the Constabulary has the people it needs to focus on the issues that matter to our communities.

"This is the largest increase in the size of the service for a generation and has meant the force can bring in a new enhanced operating model, which has speeded up its response to crime, increased arrests and solved more crime.

"I promised I would fix the 101 non-emergency service, and now, rather than waiting 30 minutes, 40 minutes or even longer on the line to report crime or intelligence, the majority of calls are answered in just two minutes.

"Taken together, the extra officers, and making it easier to report concerns and issues to the police, have helped me deliver on my third promise, of cutting anti-social behaviour by more than 50%.

"My other three pledges were to tackle rural crime (cost of rural crime cut by 29%), reduce online scams (cut by almost 30%) and get a grip of the Constabulary's finances. This I did by better governance and securing an additional £15 million of Government funding into Gloucestershire to improve the service we provide to communities and victims of crime."

Mr Nelson added: "This has all been against a backdrop of working all hours to clear up the mess left by my predecessor, who left the force in such a mess that it fell into 'Special Measures' because of a hole in the force finances, a lack of grip and a failure to invest in more officers, staff and IT.

"He has also now shown he is nothing more than a shameless political opportunist, declaring himself as a Liberal Democrat and admitting that it is to simply increase his chances of winning, despite his previous claims to be 'keeping politics out of policing'.

"I got the force out of Special Measures faster than any other force in a similar position, by supporting the Chief Constable and strengthening the Constabulary with more police. There is still much more to do, and with your support, if I have the privilege of being re-elected this May, I plan to turn the force into one of the best in the country."

Punchline reported last week that Gloucestershire's pioneering PCC Martin Surl is planning a comeback  after joining the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Surl, an ex-police officer, was the first incumbent of the role as an independent from 2012 to 2021.

He said he joined the Lib Dems after being impressed by the party's approach to law and order.