As Cumbria heads towards electing its first mayor, The Herdwick caught up with Mike Starkie, the former elected Copeland mayor and Conservative candidate for Cumbria.

Why do you think a combined Cumbria Mayor is the way forward after Cumbria Council was recently split?

I have been a long-term supporter of a Mayoral Combined Authority for Cumbria and believe it should have happened 10 years ago, when we had the opportunity to become one of the pioneers alongside Manchester, Liverpool, Tees Valley and the West Midlands, all of which have benefited enormously from devolution.

Unfortunately, Labour and Liberal Democrat council leaders in Cumbria walked away from that opportunity.

While other parts of the country moved ahead and reaped the benefits of devolution, Cumbria was left behind. As a result, we are getting a Cumbrian Mayor a decade later than we should have.

For the past 10 years I have consistently championed a Mayor for Cumbria.

I was instrumental in Local Government Reorganisation and helped author the report that the Government ultimately approved.

A Mayoral Combined Authority will bring powers and funding out of Whitehall so decisions about Cumbria are made in Cumbria, for Cumbria.

If elected, I will seek a full fiscal devolution package to unlock our county’s enormous but still unrealised potential.

How do you see your previous experience as Copeland Mayor helping during the campaign and if elected?

Every stage of my career has prepared me for this role.

I spent nine years in construction, including eight at Sellafield, then Europe’s largest construction site, and a year at Barrow Shipyard.

I then spent 32 successful years in financial services, leading major operations with responsibility for multi-million-pound budgets and hundreds of staff.

I later built and ran my own wealth management business, which I sold in 2022.

I also served eight years as Cumbria’s first, and so far only, directly elected Mayor, winning re-election in 2019 with almost double my original vote share.

When I took over Copeland it was in serious financial difficulty, carrying significant debt, liabilities and workforce vacancies.

Over eight years we paid off debts, reduced liabilities, filled vacancies, increased revenues and assets, invested in services, kept council tax down, balanced the budget, borrowed no money and secured unprecedented investment through Town Deals, Levelling Up and flood defence funding.

I believe my experience is unique.

I am the only candidate with extensive senior private sector leadership experience, experience of running my own business and eight years leading a council as an elected Mayor.

Do you see any issues having to work cross-party at both local and national level?

Not at all.

Decisions will be about what is best for Cumbria, not party politics. That was how I led Copeland and it is how I would lead Cumbria.

As Mayor I worked successfully with both a Labour MP and a Conservative MP.

I also chaired the committee of Cumbria’s six district leaders and worked constructively with them regardless of political affiliation.

You have been firmly against a proposed Tourism Tax. Why?

Cumbria already pays and collects enough tax. A tourism tax would simply increase the financial and administrative burden on one of our most important industries.

With a stronger fiscal devolution deal and greater control over our own finances, we can secure funding that would far exceed anything a tourism tax could raise.

After extensive consultation with businesses across the county, I remain convinced that a tourism tax would damage an industry employing around one in three Cumbrian workers, threaten jobs and make our tourism sector even less competitive internationally.

In many European countries hospitality VAT is only 10 percent.

Nobody has ever taxed their way to growth. If I am elected, my priority will remain simple:

Bring investment into Cumbria, not taxes onto Cumbrians.

Where do you see Cumbria’s greatest potential as it heads towards devolution?

Cumbria has enormous potential in farming, tourism, nuclear, advanced manufacturing and many other sectors.

We also face real challenges, particularly our geography and transport infrastructure.

Devolution gives us the chance to assess our strengths, connect the opportunities, identify where investment is needed and align education and skills with the jobs of the future.

Most importantly, we can build a system of governance designed around Cumbria’s unique needs.

We do not need big-city solutions to rural challenges.

Devolution is about creating bespoke solutions for every area because no two places are the same.

Any other comments?

I come from a large Cumbrian family, most of whom still live here.

My father is 84, my granddaughter is six, and although work has taken me across the country, Cumbria has always been my home.

I have been involved in local clubs and organisations throughout my life, and my friends, family and future are here.

I understand Cumbria because I have lived it.

The decisions made here affect me and the people I care about.

My experience across both the private and public sectors, combined with my lifelong understanding of Cumbria, puts me in the strongest position to deliver the leadership and solutions our county needs.