History of Barrow-in-Furness - Government

Government

See also: Category:Politics of Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow is the largest town in the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness and the largest settlement in the peninsula of Furness. The borough is the direct inheritor of the municipal and county borough charters given to the town in the late 19th century. Historically it is part of the Hundred of Lonsdale 'north of the sands' in the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. Since the local government reforms enacted in England in 1974 the town has been within the administrative county of Cumbria. It still forms a part of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council forms the 'lower' tier of local government under Cumbria County Council. The town, along with Walney Island, is unparished and forms the bulk of the wards which make the entire borough's area. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Barrow are elected annually, and hold the roles of Chairman and Vice Chairman of Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council. The borough and fomer county borough of Barrow-in-Furness have been served by 106 mayors, beginning with Sir James Ramsden in 1867 and continuing through to incumbent 2012 mayor John Murphy. Between 2006 and 2011 no party held an overall majority of council seats, but in the 2011 local election, the Labour Party gained overall control of the council.

The Barrow-in-Furness UK Parliament constituency first came into existence during the 1885 United Kingdom general election, with David Duncan of the Liberal Party becoming the first MP for the town. In 1983, the constituency was expanded to include several commuter towns such as Dalton-in-Furness and Ulverston and was renamed Barrow and Furness. Barrow and Furness has largely been a Labour seat since then. In the 2010 general election, John Woodcock was elected as MP for the constituency.


Council/ Electoral wards of Barrow-in-Furness

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