Major General James G. Blunt

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Westmorland and Furness Council is the local authority for Westmorland and Furness in the north-west of England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a county council and district council combined.[a] Westmorland and Furness Council was first elected in May 2022, operating as a shadow authority until it replaced Cumbria County Council, Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council, Eden District Council and South Lakeland District Council on 1 April 2023.

Politics

See also: 2022 Westmorland and Furness Council election and Westmorland and Furness Council elections

Westmorland and Furness has 65 councillors,[7] It was first elected in May 2022 and operated as a shadow authority until taking up its powers on 1 April 2023.[6]

Composition

At the 2022 council election, the Liberal Democrats secured a majority on the council with 36 out of 65 councillors. Labour have 15 councillors, the Conservatives have 11 councillors, the Green Party have 1 councillor and 2 councillors were elected as independents.[8][9]

Party Councillors
Liberal Democrats 36
Labour 15
Conservative 11
Independent 2
Green 1
Total 65

Leadership

Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The first leader is Jonathan Brook, a Liberal Democrat, who was also the last leader of South Lakeland District Council.[10][11]

Councillor Party From To
Jonathan Brook Liberal Democrats 1 Apr 2023

Composition of predecessor bodies

The combined composition of the three merging district councils going into that election was as follows:[12]

Affiliation Members
Liberal Democrat 44
Conservative Party 35
Labour Party 28
Independent / Other 14
Green Party of England and Wales 3
Vacant 1

References

  1. ^ Legally, the council is a district council which additionally performs the functions assigned to county councils by local government legislation. The Westmorland and Furness area is both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county, but the county has no separate county council.[6]
  1. ^ "Leader selected for new Westmorland and Furness Council". The Westmorland Gazette.
  2. ^ "Liberal Democrats elect new group leader for Westmorland and Furness Council - Cumberland and Westmorland Herald". 8 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Chief executive named for Westmorland and Furness Council". Cumbria Crack. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Agenda for Shadow Authority for Westmorland and Furness Council on Tuesday, 17th May, 2022, 2.30 pm". westmorlandandfurness.moderngov.co.uk. 17 May 2022.
  5. ^ "New Cumbria councils to hold inaugural meetings - cumbriacrack.com".
  6. ^ a b "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/331, retrieved 24 January 2024
  7. ^ "Elections - May 2022". New Councils for Cumbria.
  8. ^ "Westmorland and Furness". www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk.
  9. ^ "Westmorland & Furness result - Local Elections 2022". BBC News.
  10. ^ "Liberal Democrats elect new group leader for Westmorland and Furness Council - Cumberland and Westmorland Herald". 8 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Council minutes". Westmorland and Furness Council. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  12. ^ "English Councils 2021". Open Council Data UK. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westmorland_and_Furness_Council