Westmorland and Furness Council

Westmorland and Furness Council is the local authority for Westmorland and Furness in the north-west of England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.[lower-alpha 1] 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.

Westmorland and Furness Council
Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 2023
Preceded byCumbria County Council
Leadership
Matt Severn,
Liberal Democrats
since 1 April 2023[1][2]
Jonathan Brook,
Liberal Democrats
since 1 April 2023[3]
Sam Plum
since 31 December 2022[4]
Structure
Seats65 councillors
Political groups
Administration (36)
  Liberal Democrat (36)
Other parties (29)
  Labour (15)
  Conservative (11)
  Independent (2)
  Green Party (1)
Length of term
4 years (from 2023)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
County Hall, Busher Walk, Kendal, LA9 4RQ[5][6]
Website
www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk

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

Westmorland and Furness has 65 councillors,[8] It was first elected in May 2022 and operated as a shadow authority until taking up its powers on 1 April 2023.[7]

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.[9][10]

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.[11][12]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Jonathan BrookLiberal Democrats1 Apr 2023

Composition of predecessor bodies

The combined composition of the three merging district councils going into that election was as follows:[13]

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 Westmorland and Furness area is both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county, but the county has no separate county council, with the district council performing county functions.[7]
  1. Nicholson, Savannah (17 May 2022). "Cllr Jonathan Brook appointed leader of Westmorland and Furness Council". Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  2. "Councillor Matt Severn continues to take on Chair mantle". Westmorland and Furness Council. 10 May 2024.
  3. "Liberal Democrats elect new group leader for Westmorland and Furness Council - Cumberland and Westmorland Herald". 8 May 2022.
  4. "Chief executive named for Westmorland and Furness Council". Cumbria Crack. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  5. "Agenda for Shadow Authority for Westmorland and Furness Council on Tuesday, 17th May, 2022, 2.30 pm". westmorlandandfurness.moderngov.co.uk. 17 May 2022.
  6. "New Cumbria councils to hold inaugural meetings - cumbriacrack.com".
  7. "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/331, retrieved 24 January 2024
  8. "Elections - May 2022". New Councils for Cumbria.
  9. "Westmorland and Furness". www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk.
  10. "Westmorland & Furness result - Local Elections 2022". BBC News.
  11. "Liberal Democrats elect new group leader for Westmorland and Furness Council - Cumberland and Westmorland Herald". 8 May 2022.
  12. "Council minutes". Westmorland and Furness Council. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  13. "English Councils 2021". Open Council Data UK. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
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