Tories take pasting in rural Cumbria

TYPICALLY, the National media coverage of the local elections was obsessed with Labour gains in traditional Tory seats in London. Elsewhere the narrative was about Labour not making as many inroads as they might, with a mid-term national government facing financial stagnation and crisis of confidence over pandemic parties in Downing Street. Even BBC North-West focussed on an inconsequential Labour performance in Manchester. But here in rural Cumbria the Tories took a real pasting. Voters were electing shadow authorities for the newly formed Cumberland in the North and West of the old administrative county and Westmorland and Furness in the South and East. There had been fears that the new boundaries had been deliberately gerrymandered by the Conservative Government to improve their hold on local councils in the sub-region. If that had been the tactic it couldn’t have misfired more. In Cumberland, Labour took control of the new council – which is set to replace Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland and the county councils next year. In Westmorland & Furness, which replaces Barrow borough, Eden and South Lakeland districts, the Liberal Democrats took total control. Labour came second, largely due to their stronghold in Barrow. In both new counties the Tories lost seats. This is despite five of the six Parliamentary seats in Cumbria being Tory held. Even in the exception, Westmorland and Lonsdale, the popular sitting Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron had a much-reduced majority in 2019, with the Tories coming a close second. So, what happened to the Tories in a rural county they traditionally dominated? In Mr Farron’s South Lakeland citadel, the Liberal Democrats swept the board with 25 out of the 30 seats available. The Conservatives hung on to just three seats, and only just: Matt Brereton kept his seat in High Furness, after a tense recount, with a majority of 19, Ben Cooper of the Conservatives also took Low Furness after another recount that saw him win his seat with a majority of 23. And Helen Irving won another Conservative seat in Ulverston, where Labour councillor Jackie Drake took the party’s only South Lakeland seat and Green councillor Judy Filmore maintained her seat, the only one won by her party in Westmorland & Furness. Greens won two Cumberland seats. Chairwoman of the Westmorland and Lonsdale Conservatives Councillor Pat Bell, who did not win a seat in Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale, said candidates had registered much 'frustration' from voters while campaigning, reflecting the 'national mood'. "It's a rural area and they are wondering are we being listened to?" she told The Westmorland Gazette. She said frustration stemmed from the increased cost of living, with fuel bills, petrol and food prices continuing to soar and that the way people were voting in this election was 'their way of registering that frustration'. Lib Dem councillor Peter Thornton, who is currently deputy leader of Cumbria County Council, said: “We knocked on thousands of doors and the message was that people wanted a council that addresses climate change, fixes the roads and footpaths and isn’t far away.” Mr Farron said he believed national issues such as the price of living had had a big impact on the day’s result. “When they brought in the new authority it felt like it was drawn up to prevent us from having a majority,” he said. “And for us to win a majority at all is just astonishing. These are astonishing results and we’ve never ever won before all the council seats in my constituency and now we have. “I think on a national level it shows that voters don’t take kindly to a government without integrity.” Back in Cumberland, Sir Keir Starmer, national Labour leader, celebrated with local Labour representatives in Carlisle’s Station Hotel. Sir Keir told Cumbria Crack: “It’s extremely positive and it’s brilliant. I was here just a week ago and to come back is brilliant. Everyone is so chuffed. It’s good for Cumberland and good for the Labour Party to show what we can do.” Labour won 30 seats on the new authority, which means it has overall control. The Conservatives have seven seats, the Liberal Democrats four seats, independent councillors three and the Green Party two seats. This means Labour have gained 12 seats, the Conservatives have lost 14, the Liberal Democrats gained two, the Green Party gained two and the Independents lost two. Labour’s Barbara Cannon, who was elected to represent the St Michael’s ward in Workington, said: “We worried and strategised about what may happen and we have done better than we expected. “We have a lot of work to do now and quickly. I didn’t think we’d do this well, I thought we’d be talking about alliances. It’s very exciting.” Lisa Brown, who was elected in the Currock ward for Labour and is among those in the running to be the leader of Cumberland Council, said: “It has been a long time coming. You could see when you spoke to people how despondent they were locally and nationally. “People didn’t reflect on what they were going through on an everyday basis (during the pandemic), but this result is for those people across Cumberland that this council can now help.” Although the local party was hopeful of a positive result in Cumberland, it took many by surprise. “It is beyond what we expected,” said Mrs Brown. “But also the Lib Dems have taken seats and Helen (Davison) for the Greens. She is an outstanding and hardworking local councillor. “I don’t buy into this protest vote narrative, this result is rewarding hard work by local Labour candidates, especially in Carlisle.” It is too early to say how the results in the local elections might translate into a general election, according to Mrs Brown. The new Westmorland & Furness authority will have 65 councillors in 33 new wards. The make-up of the authority, which will sit for five years, one as a shadow and four for real is: Liberal Democrats: 36; Labour 15; Conservative Party 11; Green Party 1; Independent: 2. Neil Hudson, the Tory MP for Penrith and the Borders, which overlaps parts of both Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland Councils said: "We, as the Conservative Party, have had a very disappointing set of results in both Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness. "The results pose some difficult questions for my Party. Now is the time to regroup and reflect, so we can move forward and regain the trust and support of Cumbrian folk. The two new councils will be shadow authorities for the first year, then run the new areas for four more years, before the next elections in 2027. In total 213 candidates will be standing in 33 new wards for Westmorland and Furness Council. The two main reasons for the local government shake-up are reducing costs and confusion. Currently ratepayers aren’t sure whether it is county or district which collects the bins, repairs the potholes, or keep the streetlights working. It is hoped having one unitary authority will make things simpler. As for costs, the two new Cumbria authorities, will only have one chief executive and one set of officers each, making a total of two sets instead of seven at present. There is likely to be a bloody carve-up of jobs. And then there is the estate, with grand town halls in Penrith, Kendal and Barrow. These are more likely to be used as local offices than be sold or demolished. It is worth pointing out that the new set up is virtually back to the future. It was the Conservative government of Ted Heath back in 1974 which created Cumbria County and its six districts from the old unitary authorities of Cumberland and Westmorland, as well as Lancashire North of the Sands and even bits of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, in Dent and Sedbergh. Going back to that system exactly was deemed a non-starter, and too embarrassing. Now Conservative Government has carved up Cumbria again, although some Cumbria-wide institutions like Police and Fire are likely to survive. How much the public cares was reflected in the turn-out on May 5, which was 38.5%, not much more than half of the number of voters likely to turn out for a general election.