Cumbria Mayoral election delayed to 2027

Cumbria is one of two areas where the Mayoral elections which the government had originally planned to hold in 2026, has been put back to May 2026. The other area where the election of the first mayor has been delayed is Cheshire & Warrington.

Both Cumberland Council and Westmorland & Furness Council requested a one-year delay to appoint the first mayor of Cumbria. A similar request was made by the local councils covering Cheshire & Warrington. The councils which asked for a later election argued that the mayoral vote should be held at the same time as local council elections, giving more time to prepare and to save almost £1m in resources.

Four other areas will go ahead with votes for new mayors in 2026, Those elections taking place next year – Greater Essex, Hampshire & the Solent, Norfolk & Suffolk, and Sussex & Brighton – will use the first past the post system. It's expected the government will change the voting system for mayoral elections held after this, to use instead the Supplementary Vote system rather than the First Past the Post system from 2027.

Cumbria's future mayor will have powers over housing, transport and other vital areas. Government work will continue with Cumbria's local authorities to confirm the framework for its thirty-year investment funds, a key part of the new model. 

The new English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which will create these new mayoral authorities, was introduced in Parliament last week.

“The timing of these elections will not affect the speed of establishment of the combined authorities in these areas,” according to devolution minster Jim McMahon.

That must be the most delusional statement I have ever heard even from a member of this government. I can see the case for holding the elections for mayor at the same time as council elections and doing so from the start, but the idea that electing the first mayor a year later won't affect the speed with which a new authority based on that mayor is fully established is utterly preposterous.

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