The placeConstituency · North West · Electorate 72,029 · 2023 boundaries

Westmorland and Lonsdale.

Liberal Democrats MP Tim Farron holds the seat on 62.7% of the vote.

Member of ParliamentTim Farron · Liberal Democrats
CouncilWestmorland and Furness
Boundary set2023
ONS codeE14001580
Electorate · 2024
72.0k
Registered to vote
2024 GE — winner
62.7%
Liberal Democrats · +43.3pp over Con
Settlements
19
Largest: Kendal
Crime · per 1k pop · 3mo
14.4
data.police.uk · 12mo rolling
Dispatch
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.

62.7%
LD vote · 2024 GE
1
Council overlapping the seat
17
Wards · 27 councillors
§ 01The local picture — wards.17 wards · 27 councillors

Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line.

WardLatest winnerVotesCouncilLast cycle
Appleby Brough(2 seats)Connell · Simpkins1,617Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Bowness Lyth Steve Bavin747Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Coniston Hawkshead Suzanne Mary Pender854Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Eamont Shap Nicki Vecqueray789Westmorland and Furness LDFeb 2025
Eden Lyvennet Vale(2 seats)Baker · McCall1,776Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Grange Cartmel Tim Bloomer2,180Westmorland and Furness LDOct 2024
Greystoke Ullswater Judith Margaret Derbyshire1,150Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Kendal Castle(2 seats)Hennessy · Ladhams2,436Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Kendal Highgate(2 seats)Severn · Dixon2,053Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Kendal Nether(2 seats)Cornthwaite · Evans2,358Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Kendal South(2 seats)Rathbone · Brook3,087Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Kendal Strickland Fell(2 seats)Archibald · Thornton2,606Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Kirkby Stephen Tebay Adrian Waite887Westmorland and Furness LDOct 2024
Levens Crooklands Janet Mary Battye1,106Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Sedbergh Kirkby Lonsdale(2 seats)Hodgson · Mitchell3,745Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Upper Kent Ali Jama949Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022
Windermere Ambleside(3 seats)Jarvis · Jones · Clark6,744Westmorland and Furness LDMay 2022

Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

§ 02Settlements.19 named places

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.

large-town 29,589town 30,002village 32,204

Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021

SettlementPop.Class
Kendal29,589large town
Rural & dispersed24,098town
Windermere5,904town
Grange-over-Sands4,278village
Appleby-in-Westmorland3,233village
Ambleside2,989village
Showing 6 of 19·All 19 settlements
§ 03Demographics.Census 2021 · vs national avg

Headline indicators.

IndicatorLocalNationalΔ
Employment rate57.3%57.1%0%
Owner-occupied70.3%63.1%+11%
Private rented18.4%20.0%-8%
Social rented11.2%16.8%-33%

Ethnicity.

White97.7%
Asian0.8%
Black0.2%
Mixed1.0%
Other0.3%

Source · Census 2021

Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Male 49.1% Female 50.9% Median seat
MaleAgeFemale
85+
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
16-19
10-15
5-9
0-4

Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band

§ 04Local economy.Income · tax · businesses · schools
Median income
£26,600
HMRC SPI · 2024
Mean income
£35,000
HMRC SPI · 2024
Businesses
6,055
VAT/PAYE-registered
Schools
71
53 primary · 7 secondary
GCSE pass
68.0%
Attainment 8: 47.6

Income tax contribution.

Total income tax£277m
Taxpayers54,000
Median per taxpayer£2,490
Mean per taxpayer£5,110

Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence

Where the money flows back in.

For council finance & suppliers

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.

For household tax breakdown

Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.

§ 05Recorded crime.data.police.uk · 12-month rolling

Headline rate.

Per 1k pop · 3mo
14.4
-30% vs national
Monthly avg / 1k
4.8
12-month rolling
Top category
Violence & sexual offences
48% of recorded crime

By category.

Violence & sexual offences6.8
Criminal damage & arson1.4
Public order1.2
Other theft1.2
Drugs0.9
Shoplifting0.6
Anti-social behaviour0.6

Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop

Showing 7 of 15·All 15 categories — full monthly trend & settlement breakdown
§ 06Election history.5 contests · created on 2023 boundaries

2024 — full result.

CandidateVotes%
Tim FarronWONLD31,06162.7
Matty JackmanCon9,58919.4
James TownleyRef4,8429.8
Pippa SmithLab2,3064.7
Phil ClaytonGrn1,4863.0
John StudholmeInd1110.2
Izzy SolabarrietaInd810.2
Wendy LongInd570.1

Turnout 49,533

Prior contests.

YearWinner%
2019Timothy FarronLD48.9
2017Tim FarronLD45.8
2015Tim FarronLD51.5
2010Farron, TimLD60.0
Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
BoundariesONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundary review
Wards & councilsLGBCE · Democracy Club
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
SettlementsONS Built-Up Areas
Census 2021
DemographicsONS · Nomis · Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
Income & taxHMRC SPI
±8% confidence
SchoolsDfE · attainment data
Crimedata.police.uk
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo
ElectionsElectoral Commission