Another councillor has left the Conservative Party in acrimony following a disagreement over the selection process for the new authority.
Political parties are currently getting their affairs in order ahead of an election in May, which will decide the first crop of councillors on the new unitary authorities.
The election to the new Westmorland & Furness Council will see representatives elected in Eden, South Lakeland and Barrow-in-Furness.
The new unitary council will replace the county council and existing district councils as the governing authority across that footprint.
And a councillor who has served Hesket ward on Eden District Council for years has decided not to stand as a Conservative having dedicated the last nine years of her political career to the party.
Councillor Elaine Martin, who announced her resignation from the Conservatives this week, said: “I’ve sat at Hesket for nine years as a Conservative, I was first elected in 2015.”
The district councillor initially decided not to stand for election to the new council but had a change of heart.
“Then I was put in a position where there were three Conservative candidates and I felt we were going to go through a selection process and I didn’t agree with that.
“This was my ward because it now goes with Skelton, that’s where I grew up.”
Councillor Martin has decided she will stand for re-election as an independent but was advised by council officers that she would not be able to serve the rest of her current term as a Conservative.
But she feels the situation has worked out for the best.
“I want to represent the people in my ward, it’s not about the politics I want to represent them.”
When asked if recent controversy from Downing Street played a part, she said: “It’s nothing to do with anything in Government.”
But she said: “I had that feeling I couldn’t defend the Government on the doorstep now.
“When I joined as a councillor I’ve never been overly political when I talked to them on the doorstep because I’m chair of the parish council which is non-political.”
