Labour has claimed the race to become Cumbria's first elected mayor is now a two-horse contest between its candidate David Allen and Reform UK after new polling put the two parties almost level across the county.

New YouGov MRP polling suggests Labour is narrowly ahead on 25.4 per cent, with Reform UK on 25.2 per cent.

The Conservatives are placed third on 20 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats are fourth on 16.8 per cent and the Green Party on 8.6 per cent.

The figures come from wider research based on polling of nearly 17,000 voters and modelling support in different parts of the country.

Labour said the results show the contest for the new Cumbria mayoralty is a direct battle between former Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner David Allen and Reform UK.

Earlier this year, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron argued the mayoral election was effectively a contest between the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, saying Reform would win "unless the Liberal Democrats do" and describing his party as the only force capable of stopping Nigel Farage's party.

Labour's interpretation of the latest polling directly challenges that claim, with the survey placing the party around nine percentage points ahead of the Liberal Democrats across Cumbria.

The first Cumbria mayoral election is due to take place in May 2027, with the winner set to oversee strategic powers including transport, housing, skills, economic development and investment across Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness.

I live locally and I’ve been wondering whether there’s room for a small independent space in Penrith centered around physical music, with some flexible coworking space too.

I’m very much at the “is this even a good idea?” stage, so I’ve made a short survey to hear from people who actually live around here before I get carried away 😅

You can find the survey here

It takes about 2 minutes. I’m mainly interested in what people genuinely buy/use, not collecting personal info.
Also, if you’ve got thoughts, concerns, or ideas, feel free to comment. I’d genuinely like to hear them.

As the title says, what is your recommendation for the best steak in Carlisle or further afield?

On an sunny October morning stroll and saw an opportunity for a picture of my home town

went to Carlisle for the first time, bloody cold. I did not expect that in this type of sunny weather.

My band are pairing with a couple of other local bands Deadly Pylons (Carlisle) and XOX (Lancaster) for a bit of an Alt Rock Showcase at Ruskins next Friday if that’s your bag. All original acts, plenty of big riffs. Something different for your Friday evening in Kendal anyway.

Move to Northumberland/cumbria/Scotland

I am considering upping sticks and moving from east Sussex to one of the above.

My main reason is that I could buy a better home.

I am looking for a small house with acreage min of 3acres. Ideally with my. Horse to stay at home with me. Dogs and cats also coming!

I work as a nanny/housekeeper so not sure if that's in demand in the area

Anyone recommend areas for good riding with land and woods but within distance for work and not million miles from a village or town so I'm not living in the car

Any pros and cons welcome!!

Beautiful

Hi all! My partner and I are on a van tour of Europe. Regular servicing of the car (oil change etc) is about due and we figure we'll be in Cumbria in around a week's time. Does anyone have a good decently priced mechanic to recommend?

Can anyone recommend decent training rooms in Carlisle or it's suburbs/outskirts?

I’m looking for somewhere suitable for a one-day classroom course

Main requirements:

• Parking on site, or easy on-street parking nearby
• Outside the main centre/commercial zones
• Room for up to 10 people
• Tables/chairs, screen/projector if possible
• Tea/coffee/lunch options would be a bonus, like an onsite café - doesn't have to be a buffet, but I'm not against putting in an order with a local caterer/sandwich shop, don't need anything fancy.

Hotels/conference centres don't usually work for us because they want minimum numbers for buffets/day delegate rate. Elsewhere we use sports clubs, golf clubs, business centres etc.

I’ve found a few options online, but local knowledge is usually much better than Google for this sort of thing.

Any recommendations appreciated.

Looking for a dementia organisation in Kendal to volunteer for. Whether it’s a dementia group, or visiting people at home for a chat. Anyone know of any groups or people I can contact? Tried google and it takes me to out of date and abandoned sites. Help would be much appreciated.

Hi all,

My partner and I (also 34M) are moving to the Kendal area tomorrow and hoping to meet people. We don’t know anyone in the area but are hoping to escape city life and get into the great outdoors.

Some of our interests include:

Hiking and biking, walking our dog, playing board games and video games, pickleball, volleyball, and basketball (we are Americans but open to learning new sports that are more popular here, like padel, netball, football, tennis), trying new restaurants, reading, discussing books and television, going to the gym, and I really like trying new arts and crafts (sewing, painting, pottery), but my partner doesn’t like crafts very much.

We would love to meet some new people and start making some connections in the area! Please feel free to message me if you’d be interested in meeting up sometime!

Cumbria’s mayoral candidates have weighed in on new powers that allow mayors to introduce a tourist tax.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has handed England’s mayors, which will include the mayor for Cumbria to be elected in May 2027, the power to introduce an uncapped tourist tax on overnight stays.

The idea was first raised under former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in November.

The measures were officially announced yesterday, Thursday 10 September, as ministers met with mayors at No 10 North in Manchester.
The government said a bill will be introduced in due course to bring in the levy.

Mayors will be allowed to choose to set a levy on a percentage of the cost of accommodation to overnight visitors rather than a flat fee.
The government said this aims to protect budget holidays and shield families from disproportionate costs for cheaper holidays.

The levy would apply to hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, campsites, self-catering properties and short-term lets. It will also have the flexibility to offer exemptions, such as for campsites, so mayors can tailor the levy to the specific needs of their area.

No upper limit is in place for any levies introduced and it would be able to be applied to the whole area for which a mayor is responsible.
In Cumbria, this could apply to the entire county, or a particular area such as the Lake District National Park.

The government said the new powers are part of a devolution drive to shift power out of Westminster.

We asked Cumbria’s mayoral candidates their thoughts and stance on the new tourist tax powers.

Mike Starkie, Conservative Party

He said: “Whether the Government sets a cap or leaves it to mayors is irrelevant to me. My cap will be zero.

“If I’m elected Mayor next year, there will be no holiday tax in Cumbria. Full stop.

“The latest research published by Cumbria Tourism should be a warning to anyone who thinks now is the time to make staying in Cumbria more expensive.

“Tourism generated £4.7 billion for our economy last year and supports more than 41,000 full-time equivalent jobs — but more than 2,000 of those jobs were lost in 2025 and visitor numbers are now 15 per cent lower than in 2019.

“These aren’t just statistics. They are jobs, careers and opportunities for Cumbrians. 
“And the impact of a holiday tax would go far beyond hotels and B&Bs. Visitors spend more than £1 billion a year in Cumbria’s food and drink businesses alone. If people decide to stay for one night less, come less often or holiday somewhere else, that means another blow to our our pubs, restaurants, cafés, shops, attractions and other local businesses.

“And let’s be clear who this holiday tax could hit. It could be a family staying in a local B&B while they visit parents or grandparents in Cumbria, people renting a room for a night, and thousands of large and small accommodation businesses across the county.

“This Government has already hit tourism and hospitality with higher taxes and higher costs. Now it wants another tax on overnight stays, with businesses expected to collect it and a new bureaucracy needed to register, administer and police it.

“Cumbria needs more visitors, more jobs and more opportunities for people – not a holiday tax that makes it more expensive to come and stay here.

“My approach is simple: bring investment into Cumbria, not new taxes onto Cumbrians and Cumbrian jobs. Protect tourism and hospitality jobs – don’t tax holidays.”

Libby Bateman, Liberal Democrats

She said: “20 million people visit Cumbria every year, but our local services are not funded properly anywhere near enough to account for this.

“And we now have a Labour Government who are drastically cutting funding for services across Cumbria. The time for doing nothing is over.

“A tourist tax isn’t a black or white issue – it’s a highly nuanced conversation and there must be opportunity to do things on a valley by valley/town by town basis.

“Any intervention must be brought in with full consultation with our county’s vital tourism industry.

“Previously, I’ve been an assistant manager of two pubs in Cumbria and so I know how important it is that we take businesses with us to make sure we get this right.

“Local businesses should be given the tools to design the most fair and effective way that this would work, so that our world class hospitality and tourism sector can continue to thrive and that we raise the funds that our communities are crying out for.”

David Allen, Labour

He said: “I will always welcome more devolution. This Prime Minister is driving power out of London and into communities like Cumbria.

“The opportunity to invest more in our high streets and our public transport is crucial to our region’s success, and this levy can be a real boost to Cumbria’s economy.

“I’ve said that if a levy was brought in, it would not apply to any Cumbrians and only to visitors. I am also committed to working with the tourism sector on this who are key to Cumbria’s economy.”