'Bring back Westmorland county authority,' says MP Tim Farron

9:01am Monday 11th June 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Allan Tunningley

Tim Farron MP: 'We need to cut bureaucracy' Tim Farron MP: 'We need to cut bureaucracy'

THE historic Westmorland county should be recreated as a modern unitary authority, MP Tim Farron has suggested.

The Westmorland and Lonsdale MP spoke out as the debate hotted up over whether Cumbria should have one or more unitary authorities rather than the present county and six district councils.

His suggestion follows council leader Eddie Martin's statement last week that there should be fewer district councils in Cumbria.

Coun Martin said the current seven authorities could be cut down to three, two or even one unitary authority - that is, able to provide all local authority services.

Mr Farron said: “I'm happy to join all the other MPs, council leaders and, more importantly, the public in a discussion on the future of local government in Cumbria.

"I think we need to cut bureaucracy and costs and take out layers of local government. But my personal view is that we should re-create the old Westmorland county council. I think this will best fit the economy and challenges of Eden and South Lakeland.”

South Lakeland District Council leader Peter Thornton said it was important for the district to become involved in the debate about the future of local government in Cumbria.

Comments(29)

boris plasticmac says...
10:03pm Mon 11 Jun 12

As part of Tim's weekly column in the WG this isn't a bad idea for once to float but it needs thinking about.
It has the advantage of boundaries which are historic but would the population by itself be enough to be a unitary authority.
Now if you combined Eden with the old Westmorland area you would end up with an authority of about 120,000, which is probably viable.
Then you think about the geography, the political make up of the area and what should happen to the rest of Cumbria and so you realise that it's a lot more complicated than you first thought.
So perhaps Tim could add some details to his proposal in order that we can give it the once over.

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Utter says...
10:36pm Mon 11 Jun 12

Why dont you email him and ask him?

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boris plasticmac says...
11:20pm Mon 11 Jun 12

Why can't Tim outline his ideas by leaving a comment here rather than me having to email him.
Everybody could learn something then.

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Utter says...
10:37am Tue 12 Jun 12

boris plasticmac wrote:
Why can't Tim outline his ideas by leaving a comment here rather than me having to email him.
Everybody could learn something then.
Because I imagine he's an incredibly busy man and might not see your comment!

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Lakeuk says...
12:49pm Tue 12 Jun 12

boris- Post a comment to Tim on Facebook or Twitter, he'll reply, he always replies to mine and others moans - for all the see ;)

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boris plasticmac says...
1:21pm Tue 12 Jun 12

If I send an email or contact him on Facebook the information he provides will be between him and me.
However, Tim has floated an idea which has been taken up by the gazette but does not however provide any background information as to why the Westmorland boundaries are suitable for a unitary authority .
Now I am sure he has good reasons to come to this conclusion and all I am asking is for him to provide it for me and all the other readers.

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Utter says...
1:53pm Tue 12 Jun 12

So take up LakeUk's idea and facebook him? (so people see) Or ask the gazette to contact him? How can he reply unless he sees it?

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laker1 says...
2:08pm Tue 12 Jun 12

Of course he wants this approach rather than a single unitary authority - if it was a single entity, the liberals would have no influence at all - a bit like the county council is now, where their only councillors are in South Lakeland

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Utter says...
2:20pm Tue 12 Jun 12

laker1 wrote:
Of course he wants this approach rather than a single unitary authority - if it was a single entity, the liberals would have no influence at all - a bit like the county council is now, where their only councillors are in South Lakeland
Even when Tim comes up with a cracking idea (that I think we all agree on) the conspiracy zone starts!

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TomHarvey says...
3:56pm Tue 12 Jun 12

Utter wrote:
laker1 wrote:
Of course he wants this approach rather than a single unitary authority - if it was a single entity, the liberals would have no influence at all - a bit like the county council is now, where their only councillors are in South Lakeland
Even when Tim comes up with a cracking idea (that I think we all agree on) the conspiracy zone starts!
Its impressive how an idea floated by the County Council leader suddenly becomes 'Tims cracking idea'. Watch his Lib Dem Colleagues at SLDC pretend to like the idea as well and then kick it into the long grass as they did just a few years ago - when Tim was also coincidentally a District Councillor, where he contributed to killing the proposals. Its good to see that he has changed his mind though and to be welcomed.

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boris plasticmac says...
5:34pm Tue 12 Jun 12

Well it might or might not be a "cracking idea", but we can't tell until some flesh is put on the bones.
We need to know what is a suitable population for a unitary authority,should MP'S constituencies match these authorities, what is the likely political make up of these authorities and many other relevant questions .
When we get some details,Tims suggestion could be a "cracking idea" but at present it's just a throw away line to fill space in the Gazette.

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onelocal says...
8:58pm Tue 12 Jun 12

If the Boundary Commission changes come in, then it's probably not such a "cracking idea", with the unitary authority as Westmorland and the parliamentary constituency as Kendal and Penrith.

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boris plasticmac says...
11:56pm Tue 12 Jun 12

I was under the impression the Boundary Commission proposals were not to the liking of our MP,which makes it even more important to have some details as to what he is proposing with regard to the recreation of a Westmorland unitary authority.

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onelocal says...
12:29am Wed 13 Jun 12

Of course our MP doesn't like the Boundary Commision proposals.
LibDems have Westmorland and Lonsdale tied up for years. The Conservatives don't have a chance unless they come up with a viable local candidate.
However, if the boundary changes come in then it's a straight fight between the present MP and Rory Stewart, in a proposed Kendal and Penrith constituency, which makes things more interesting.
Obviously a Westmorland unitary authority is attractive.

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fellsman says...
10:33am Wed 13 Jun 12

Don't think Timmy has quite thought this through - would the half of his constituency, which wasn't in Westmorland revert to Lancashire - If Westmorland can have its old county seat back, what about the rest. This is just a cynical ploy to try to ensure that the Liberals could keep some sort of power if it ever came to pass. They've made a complete botch of SLDC, what would they do with something larger

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boris plasticmac says...
11:11am Wed 13 Jun 12

The old Westmorland boundaries has a population about 50% less than current South Lakeland. So maybe this is the size of authority they feel comfortable with.

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laker1 says...
2:37pm Wed 13 Jun 12

This is a bit like opening the stable door when its already open. farron makes a livving out of jumping on bandwagons that are already rolling, we've seen it with broadband and the hospital. The national papers were saying the other day he was claiming the credit for the govt u turn on caravan site taxes though he wasn't even in the commons when the debate on the subject was on

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laker1 says...
2:38pm Wed 13 Jun 12

Sorry the above comment should relate to televising the Swim

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Utter says...
12:08am Thu 14 Jun 12

Can I say this is why I have a problem with these comments pages - it seems bar some some specifics we all broadly agree that this is a good idea. Why can't we disagree and be civil about it. I'm sure our constant arguments probably put people off.

Polite debate should be the way forward.

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onelocal says...
2:03am Thu 14 Jun 12

Don't think we do broadly agree that this is a good idea.

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boris plasticmac says...
8:59am Thu 14 Jun 12

Utter wrote:
Can I say this is why I have a problem with these comments pages - it seems bar some some specifics we all broadly agree that this is a good idea. Why can't we disagree and be civil about it. I'm sure our constant arguments probably put people off.

Polite debate should be the way forward.
Tim Farron's idea about Westmorland as a unitary authority is just that -an idea.
The Gazette has reported his views and we are discussing them.
As part of the discussion it would be nice to hear what your opinion is on unitary authorities in Cumbria in order that we can agree with you or not.
We need as much information
as is available so we can make an informed decision and as yet this is not available.
Yes polite debate is the way forward but it is not our role to accept one man's view as gospel.

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jimjames says...
10:16am Fri 15 Jun 12

An excellent proposal from Mr Farron. There is no reason why the Lancashire bit of his constituency should not also form a unitary. I propose that the Furness and Cartmel peninsulas, together with Barrow (i.e. Lancashire north of the Sands) combine to form a unitary. Tiny Rutland with a 30000 population became a unitary some years ago. There is no need for cumbria cc, there never was, many people in Furness have no attachment to it whatsoever. Get rid of it asap.

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fellsman says...
5:17pm Fri 15 Jun 12

Sorry - I may be a little stupid but wasn't the original idea for a single unitary authority to save money and duplication from all the small councils - What is being proposed now is to have as many authorities but in differing names and geographical area - this defeats the whole point of of the suggestion - who also is to say that the single authority needs to be the existing county council

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fellsman says...
5:41pm Fri 15 Jun 12

Just had a look at last night's Question Time when the great man himself was on - he claims it is wrong for politicians and the media to be each others top pocket - perhaps you should look a little closer to home Tim

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boris plasticmac says...
10:30pm Fri 15 Jun 12

As far as I can find out unitary authorities vary in size from Cornwall with a population of 535,000 to the Isles of Scilly with 2100 inhabitants.
On that basis Cumbria with a pop of 494,000 could be divided into either a single authority or 235 authorities of the size of the Scillys. I suspect the answer lies somewhere in between, closer to the average size of a unitary authority which is 224,000.
The answer for Cumbria should be two or three authorities, each having a reasonable similar population, good transport and possibly historical connections.
This would give us authorities of a size which would provide our services efficiently but closer to public they are serving.
It would be to much to hope that it will not be messed up by the politicians.

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lakesman says...
8:27pm Sat 16 Jun 12

would you all still be happy if they do change the boundry, and then we av to pay for the horse fair ie skips toliets, to clean up the mess to police it, at the moment sldc tax payers dont pay much , skip at devils bridge and one at middleton ,

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onelocal says...
8:35pm Thu 5 Jul 12

Interesting letter on the Gazette letters page today on this topic, pointing out that a reorganisation has been proposed several times before. Most interesting point however is the comment about "triple hafters" - councillors who are members, in some cases, of town, district and county councils.
Councillors on both district and county pick up around £15,000 pa in allowances, with additional £6 - 8000 for holding a portfolio, double that if they hold a portfolio on both councils.
I've heard it said that the more representatives, the better, but what is ironic is that a district councillor on CCC is not allowed to discuss or vote on issues relating to their district council through Declaration of Interest. This means that rather than being better represented, those electors in wards with "double or triple hafters" may not be represented at all at the county level.

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onelocal says...
8:36pm Thu 5 Jul 12

Interesting letter on the Gazette letters page today on this topic, pointing out that a reorganisation has been proposed several times before. Most interesting point however is the comment about "triple hafters" - councillors who are members, in some cases, of town, district and county councils.
Councillors on both district and county pick up around £15,000 pa in allowances, with additional £6 - 8000 for holding a portfolio, double that if they hold a portfolio on both councils.
I've heard it said that the more representatives, the better, but what is ironic is that a district councillor on CCC is not allowed to discuss or vote on issues relating to their district council through Declaration of Interest. This means that rather than being better represented, those electors in wards with "double or triple hafters" may not be represented at all at the county level.

Report this post »

onelocal says...
8:36pm Thu 5 Jul 12

Interesting letter on the Gazette letters page today on this topic, pointing out that a reorganisation has been proposed several times before. Most interesting point however is the comment about "triple hafters" - councillors who are members, in some cases, of town, district and county councils.
Councillors on both district and county pick up around £15,000 pa in allowances, with additional £6 - 8000 for holding a portfolio, double that if they hold a portfolio on both councils.
I've heard it said that the more representatives, the better, but what is ironic is that a district councillor on CCC is not allowed to discuss or vote on issues relating to their district council through Declaration of Interest. This means that rather than being better represented, those electors in wards with "double or triple hafters" may not be represented at all at the county level.

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