Surrey's new police and crime commissioner to be announced in Guildford

SURREY'S winning candidate for the first ever elected police and crime commissioner will be announced in Guildford.

Voters will elect a commissioner for the county on Thursday November 15.

The winning candidate will be responsible for holding Surrey Police and its chief constable to account on the public's behalf.

The new police and crime commissioner (PCC) will oversee how crime is tackled and ensure police provide a good service.

Candidates have until noon on October 19 to submit nomination papers to the Surrey Police Area Returning Officer.

Polling stations across Surrey will open from 7am to 10pm on November 15.

The PCC will not be elected by the traditional 'first past the post' method. Instead, a supplementary vote system will be used for the first time.

There will be one set of PCC candidates across the whole of Surrey and voters can make a first and second choice - their supplementary vote - from the list.

The new system allows a second count of second preferences if no candidate gets at least 50 per cent of the votes in the first count.

Counting and the result announcement will take place on Friday November 16.