Mrs Smith was visiting the Cheshire constituency after a weekend of rows over Labour's "class war" campaign.

The party's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, speaking on the BBC on Sunday, criticised efforts to portray Tory candidate Edward Timpson as a "toff".

There was further bad news for Labour with the results of an ICM poll in Crewe and Nantwich for the News of the World which showed the Tories had doubled their lead.

The Home Secretary, visiting the home of Labour Party member Kath Harvey, 81, with candidate Tamsin Dunwoody, said the campaign was focussing on local issues.

She said: "What Tamsin is talking about is what the people on the streets are talking to her about.

"Never mind high falutin' national issues, arguments about what is going on at a national and international level, what Tamsin knows is what matters to the people of Crewe.

"That is how they feel about their communities, whether or not the town centre is getting regenerated and what she can do to make sure that people can feel safe."

One of the local issues which has been raised during the campaign has been immigration, Crewe has seen a large Polish community grow in recent years. Mrs Smith pledged financial help for the local council.

Mrs Dunwoody, 49, a former Welsh Assembly minister, is the daughter of veteran Crewe MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, whose death, aged 77, last month sparked Thursday's by-election.