ANOTHER important piece of the economic revival jigsaw for Barrow and Furness is the devolution offer for Cumbria, which has taken a welcome step forward.

Westmorland and Furness Council and Cumberland Council have each responded positively to news that the Government has selected Cumbria for the Devolution Priority Programme. Cumbria will be one of only six areas that will be in the next wave of devolution opportunities.

This is the first step to a directly elected Mayor for Cumbria. The mayor would oversee a new Combined Authority which will sit above, but not replace, Westmorland & Furness and Cumberland councils and lead on agreed cross-Cumbria projects like improving transport, skills development and strategic planning.

In other areas like Manchester and Liverpool these Mayors have brought demonstrable benefits to their regions – improving economic growth, health, and wellbeing.

A combined authority with a mayor can give us access to the kind of local decision-making powers, and funding, we need to properly upgrade our ailing transport infrastructure including the railway lines, bus services, the A590 and A595. It also holds the potential to drive forward major regeneration projects and improve the health and wealth of our people.

In terms of next steps, a public consultation has now been launched to hear what local residents and businesses think.

You can take part here 

Following the consultation the councils will vote to move forward or not and if everything is agreed we will elect a new Mayor in May 2026.

I will be making the case for this historic opportunity for our county as soon as the public consultation gets under way.

I am a passionate advocate for devolving as much power and money as possible out of central government and into our own county.

Local problems can and should be solved locally and residents and locally accountable decision makers who know our area best should be in the driving seat and producing solutions to the challenges we face.

Taking buses back into public control; a new statutory role in governing, managing, planning, and developing the rail network; control over adult skills funding and a role in employment support programmes; and new powers over strategic planning to build the homes we need.

These are just some of the benefits available to us in Cumbria if we seize the opportunity being presented so we should embrace devolution as we march confidently into a future that also includes government investment of £200m heading for Barrow and Furness.

The government clearly shares the confidence we have for our part of the country.