Westmorland and Lonsdale.
Liberal Democrats MP Tim Farron holds the seat on 62.7% of the vote.
3 Jun 2026
Farron's most striking recent act was voting against his own party three times on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in June 2025, opposing its Third Reading and two amendments designed to tighten eligibility -- while backing two procedural and safeguard votes that ran against the Liberal Democrat majority. All five rebel votes fell on the same day, signalling a clear personal position against assisted dying legislation rather than tactical manoeuvring. Beyond Westminster, he has been prominently active in his constituency: campaigning against a partial motorway junction closure on the M6, tabling an Early Day Motion on heating oil costs that attracted 35 signatures, lobbying ministers to save a Lake District GP surgery, and pushing for tighter water-quality testing at Windermere following hospitalisations.
His parliamentary participation rate of 55% sits below the Commons average, though the volume of his speech activity -- 471 contributions across 235 debates -- suggests selective attendance rather than disengagement. He votes with the Liberal Democrats 94.8% of the time, making those assisted dying votes the notable exception. His stance profile shows consistent opposition to progressive taxation and employer National Insurance rises, stronger-than-average support for welfare reform and Lords scrutiny, and markedly lower alignment with NHS funding positions than his party average. His speech topics cluster around the economy, local government, environment, social care, and cost of living -- a mix that maps closely onto rural Cumbrian concerns.
Farron has held Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005 and served as Liberal Democrat leader from 2015 to 2017, resigning citing tensions between his Christian faith and party policy -- context that helps explain his assisted dying votes. He holds no current select committee seats. News coverage over the past 90 days is extensive but broadly neutral in sentiment, dominated by local culture, housing, and transport stories rather than controversy.
Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line.
| Ward | Latest winner | Votes | Council | Last cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appleby Brough(2 seats) | Connell · Simpkins | 1,617 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Bowness Lyth | Steve Bavin | 747 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Coniston Hawkshead | Suzanne Mary Pender | 854 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Eamont Shap | Nicki Vecqueray | 789 | Westmorland and Furness LD | Feb 2025 |
| Eden Lyvennet Vale(2 seats) | Baker · McCall | 1,776 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Grange Cartmel | Tim Bloomer | 2,180 | Westmorland and Furness LD | Oct 2024 |
| Greystoke Ullswater | Judith Margaret Derbyshire | 1,150 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Kendal Castle(2 seats) | Hennessy · Ladhams | 2,436 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Kendal Highgate(2 seats) | Severn · Dixon | 2,053 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Kendal Nether(2 seats) | Cornthwaite · Evans | 2,358 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Kendal South(2 seats) | Rathbone · Brook | 3,087 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Kendal Strickland Fell(2 seats) | Archibald · Thornton | 2,606 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Kirkby Stephen Tebay | Adrian Waite | 887 | Westmorland and Furness LD | Oct 2024 |
| Levens Crooklands | Janet Mary Battye | 1,106 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Sedbergh Kirkby Lonsdale(2 seats) | Hodgson · Mitchell | 3,745 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Upper Kent | Ali Jama | 949 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
| Windermere Ambleside(3 seats) | Jarvis · Jones · Clark | 6,744 | Westmorland and Furness LD | May 2022 |
Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The seat’s population is concentrated in Kendal (29,589), with Rural & dispersed (24,098) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 91,795.
Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021
| Settlement | Pop. | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Kendal | 29,589 | large town |
| Rural & dispersed | 24,098 | town |
| Windermere | 5,904 | town |
| Grange-over-Sands | 4,278 | village |
| Appleby-in-Westmorland | 3,233 | village |
| Ambleside | 2,989 | village |
Headline indicators.
| Indicator | Local | National | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment rate | 57.3% | 57.1% | 0% |
| Owner-occupied | 70.3% | 63.1% | +11% |
| Private rented | 18.4% | 20.0% | -8% |
| Social rented | 11.2% | 16.8% | -33% |
Ethnicity.
Source · Census 2021
Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band
Income tax contribution.
| Total income tax | £277m |
| Taxpayers | 54,000 |
| Median per taxpayer | £2,490 |
| Mean per taxpayer | £5,110 |
Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence
Where the money flows back in.
This constituency is served by Westmorland and Furness. Each council’s service spend, peer rank and supplier list lives on its own page — open from the meta block above or the compass strip below.
Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.
Headline rate.
By category.
Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop
2024 — full result.
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim FarronWON | LD | 31,061 | 62.7 |
| Matty Jackman | Con | 9,589 | 19.4 |
| James Townley | Ref | 4,842 | 9.8 |
| Pippa Smith | Lab | 2,306 | 4.7 |
| Phil Clayton | Grn | 1,486 | 3.0 |
| John Studholme | Ind | 111 | 0.2 |
| Izzy Solabarrieta | Ind | 81 | 0.2 |
| Wendy Long | Ind | 57 | 0.1 |
Turnout 49,533
Prior contests.
| Year | Winner | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Timothy Farron | LD | 48.9 |
| 2017 | Tim Farron | LD | 45.8 |
| 2015 | Tim Farron | LD | 51.5 |
| 2010 | Farron, Tim | LD | 60.0 |
Sources, methods & last update
2023 boundary review
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
±8% confidence
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo