THE Conservative party made a fresh push to win votes in Barrow and Furness as, with just seven days before the general election, Labour continues to close the gap.

Yesterday evening four of the five parliamentary candidates for Barrow and Furness went under the harsh spotlight of public scrutiny at an election hustings.

Today, Dr Liam Fox, secretary of international trade in Theresa May's government, visited Ulverston to speak to the workers and managers at Cumbria Crystal as well as touring west Cumbria with Trudy Harrison, Conservative candidate for Copeland.

Campaign group 38 Degrees organised the hustings which took place at Barrow's Abbey House Hotel. A crowded auditorium saw prospective candidates answer questions posed by the audience, and from people watching at home on a live stream.

Four of the five candidates vying for the Barrow and Furness seat came to lay out their views to locals.

Loraine Birchall, Simon Fell, Rob O'Hara and Alan Piper, of the Lib Dems, Conservatives, Green Party and Ukip respectively were all in attendance.

A sudden family illness meant that Labour candidate John Woodcock was not able to attend, and he sent his apologies.

The first that came up was on the subject of tuition fees, and whether or not the candidates would scrap them.

Candidates were split on the issue, with Ms Birchall and Mr O'Hara for the ending of fees, and Mr Fell and Mr Piper in favour keeping the payment model.

The controversial topic of transport in the area, a source of so much frustration in the community drew an agitated reaction from the audience.

There was consternation when Mr Piper implied that there was a price to be paid by communities that are isolated from population centres.

He said: "If you need stuff enough, you need to go to where it is."

Today government minster Dr Fox made a whistle stop tour of the county, visiting towns including Whitehaven and Ulverston.

As national polls hinting the Conservatives could lose seats across the country, and one even mooting a hung parliament, Dr Fox was keen to stress the importance of marketing the extraordinary local businesses in the area.

He said: "What I've been trying to do today is show how many top end, quality businesses that are in this part of the country."

Mr Fell added: "Cumbria Crystal are a great local company with an eye on the world market. Everything here is to do with Brexit, the important thing is to stand up for Barrow and Furness."