Farron welcomes govt announcement that Westmorland & Cumberland "still exist"!

23 Apr 2013
Lib Dem logo bird projected on blockwork

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has welcomed the announcement that the government will seek to encourage the marking and continued use of Westmorland & Cumberland.

A significant number of counties were 'administratively abolished' by the government in the Local Government Act 1972.

In a symbolic move, the Department of Communities and Local Government will assert that England 's historic and traditional counties still exist, and are now recognised by the government - including the likes of Westmorland, Cumberland , Huntingdonshire and Middlesex.

Previously, many parts of Whitehall and municipal authorities have shunned these counties, many of which date back over a thousand years of English history. Secretary of State Eric Pickles today announced that the government will seek to encourage the marking and continued use of such traditional county names.

Westmorland is 1 of the 39 historic counties of England . The Normans conquered it in 1092 and created the baronies of Kendal and Westmorland, which were then formed into the single county of Westmorland in 1226. It formed an administrative county in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, until 1974 after which it became part of the county of Cumbria.

Cumberland is a historic county of that had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. The first record of ' Cumberland ' was in 945. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the council was abolished and combined with parts of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire to form part of the new county of Cumbria .

Tim said: "This is great news and really welcome it on St George's Day. I hope the government will now use the terms Westmorland and Cumberland more often and support our historic counties. I will keep asking them to use the titles and to fly our flags on community buildings throughout our area. The next time there is a reorganisation of local government it is essential that there are moves to restore Westmorland and Cumberland as administrative counties too."

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