Westmorland and Furness Council
Westmorland and Furness Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1 April 2023 |
Preceded by | Cumbria County Council |
Leadership | |
Sam Plum since 31 December 2022[4] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 65 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years (from 2023) |
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Kendal Town Hall, Kendal[5] | |
Website | |
www |
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.[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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ 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.[6]
- ^ Nicholson, Savannah (17 May 2022). "Cllr Jonathan Brook appointed leader of Westmorland and Furness Council". Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Councillor Matt Severn continues to take on Chair mantle". Westmorland and Furness Council. 10 May 2024.
- ^ "Liberal Democrats elect new group leader for Westmorland and Furness Council - Cumberland and Westmorland Herald". 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Chief executive named for Westmorland and Furness Council". Cumbria Crack. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6ppww3xvgvo
- ^ a b "The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/331, retrieved 24 January 2024
- ^ "Elections - May 2022". New Councils for Cumbria.
- ^ "Westmorland and Furness". www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk.
- ^ "Westmorland & Furness result - Local Elections 2022". BBC News.
- ^ "Liberal Democrats elect new group leader for Westmorland and Furness Council - Cumberland and Westmorland Herald". 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Council minutes". Westmorland and Furness Council. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "English Councils 2021". Open Council Data UK. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.