Following yesterday’s decision by councils to consent to the creation of a Combined Authority with directly elected Mayor that is expected to have powers over transport, skills and employment, housing and planning and tackling climate change and will have powers to charge households across Cumbria a precept on their councils tax to help fun projects alongside an £11million a year funding deal from government for Cumbria.
Although not yet confirmed it’s expected the Mayor will also replace the police fire and crime commissioner with the mayor and combined authority taking over responsibilities for police and fire services across Cumbria.
Cumbria is one of the few areas in the North to not currently have a devolution deal and Mayor.
But two candidates have already been announced With the Cumbrian Conservatives the first to announce their candidate to become Cumbria’s First Mayor.
Cumbria Conservatives decide on their candidate for the May 2027 election, at a meeting in Keswick recently with Mike Starkie former Copeland mayor selected as the Conservative candidate.
Previously, Mr Starkie served as the first and only directly elected mayor of Copeland, before the council abolished in 2023 in the local government reorganisation. Mr Starkie was heavily involved in the proposal for local government reorganisation in Cumbria and put forward along with Allerdale council the proposal government implemented with the creation of Cumberland Council and. Westmorland and Furness Council.
In both the 2015 and 2019 Mr Starkie stood as an independent candidate, before joining the Conservative Party in 2020.
A spokesperson from Westmorland and Lonsdale Conservatives said: “We are delighted Mike Starkie has been selected as the Conservative Mayoral candidate for Cumbria; he is a born Cumbrian who is committed to fighting our corner and in him we have the only person in the whole county who has previously served as an elected mayor, having served two terms as the elected Mayor of Copeland.”
The local party branch singled out Mr Starkie’s “convening power and leadership skills”, track record in delivering balanced budgets and ability to work with other councillors regardless of their political affiliation.
The spokesperson continued: “We are sure that Mike will make a tremendously compelling case for the role of Mayor of Cumbria, and we are all looking forward to working with him over the next 18 months to develop his policy platform, and to campaign to return not just Mike as mayor but as many excellent Conservative candidates at the local elections to Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness councils in May 2027 as possible.”
The Liberal Democrat Party has today also announced its candidate for the inaugural Cumbria mayoral election in May 2027.
The party currently controls Westmorland and Furness Council – one of the constituent councils that make up the new authority – and has selected Libby Bateman as their candidate for mayor.
Ms Bateman previously served as a Conservative Cumbria county councillor and is a current board member of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
She has also spent seven years as a rural advisor and lobbyist for the Country Land and Business Association.
A Liberal Democrats party spokesperson said in a statement: “Her achievements range from founding a local first responder team and establishing a community bus charity, to building a community broadband network and successfully campaigning to fund county-wide delivery.
“Today, she works for Fibrus, connecting Cumbria’s most rural areas to full-fibre, hyper fast broadband.”
Libby Bateman said: “Cumbria is unique in its geography, economy, and communities, and we need investment that reflects those local realities, not a one-size-fits-all model.
“I’m honoured to have been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Cumbria.
“Over the next 18 months, I’ll be out and about listening to people and businesses across the county, working together to shape a more resilient, prosperous future.
“This is not about one person, it’s about Cumbria having a stronger voice and a better deal for everyone.”
Tim Farron, who has served as MP for the Cumbrian constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005 but has publicly spoken against the creation of the role of a Cumbria Mayor, has supported Ms Bateman’s selection.
He said: “I’m thrilled that Libby Bateman has been selected as our candidate – someone with a fantastic track record of getting alongside local communities to get things done, whether that’s better bus services or improved broadband.
“As a former Conservative councillor, she represents many people across our county who are appalled at what the Conservative Party have become in recent years and have instead turned to the Liberal Democrats.
“Libby will fight to get Cumbria’s voice heard, and I’m proud to stand with her in that fight.”
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