2022 Elections: Disaster for the Conservatives as Labour and Lib Dems take councils
Voters across Cumbria headed to the polls on Thursday to elect a fresh set of councillors to the brand new local authorities: Cumberland (comprising of Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland), and Westmorland & Furness (comprising of Barrow, Eden & South Lakeland)
These new councils were created by the Conservative Party. If you ask the opposition, they were designed to favour the Conservative Party.
The results of the elections, however, were anything but a positive for the Tories.
They won just 7 out of 46 avallable seats in Cumberland as Labour stormed to a majority, winning a whopping 30 seats.
It wasn’t much better in Westmorland & Furness, stumbling to just 11 seats in a distant third as the Lib Dems took a majority on the council.
In Cumberland they even fell to third place in terms of seats won in Carlisle, where they gained ground a year ago winning seats from Labour, with the Liberal Democrats surging in seats such as Stanwix Urban & Longtown, taking over 60% of the vote in each from a standing start, having not stood in either seat previously
The bad news didn’t end there in the city. Gareth Ellis, the Deputy Leader of Carlisle City Council, lost his election to Belah Ward as Helen Davison of the Green Party proved she was here to stay after winning a seat in the ward in the 2019 Carlisle City Council Elections.
Labour’s strong night extended westwards, as they proved that the ‘Workington Man’ is beginning to trust them again, winning the majority of the seats up for grabs in Allerdale, including gains in seats such as Harrington and both Cockermouth seats.
Copeland was no different for Keir Starmer’s party, making stunning strides towards the deep south of the region, including taking Millom from the Conservatives and coming within touching distance of taking Gosforth.
Leader of Carlisle City Council John Mallinson, who won his seat of Houghton & Irthington by a comfortable margin, said that the Prime Minister’s position was “untenable” in the aftermath of the results.
A few days before the election, the electoral calculus projected that the Liberal Democrats would gain a majority on Westmorland & Furness council.
“No chance.” I thought. “They’re never going to win any of the seats in the Barrow council area, or Ulverston for that matter. It would require a near total wipe out of the Conservatives in Eden and South Lakeland”
Yeah.. about that…
The Liberal Democrats took 36 out of 65 seats on the new council in the east of the county, including winning every single ward that comprises Tim Farron’s Westminster constituency of Westmorland & Lonsdale. The aforementioned near total wipe out of the Conservatives in Eden & South Lakeland? They received just 3 seats in each as they stumbled to 3rd place in the council on 11 seats.
Labour meanwhile held strong in Barrow, with 13 of their 15 seats coming in the Barrow in Furness council area.
What comes next then?
The councils don’t assume any of the powers until 1st April 2023, and are currently deemed “shadow authorities”, but that doesn’t stop the fun.
Both councils will need a leader. Cumbria Council leader Stewart Young isn’t a member of the new Cumberland council, with Chris Wills instead taking up his old seat of Upperby, Labour will be spoilt for choice with 30 members to pick from.
The Liberal Democrats in Westmorland & Furness might just find themselves with the opposite problem. Virginia Taylor, Eden Council Leader, South Lakeland’s Leader Jonathan Brook and Deputy Leader of Cumbria Council Peter Thornton all found themselves successfully elected to the new authority.
The biggest day for Cumbrian democracy in the 1970s wasn’t like many expected, not even myself, but proved to be yet another exciting twist in the county’s electoral history.
