Going into the General Election, bookies were predicting Labour would lose both of its Cumbrian seats as part of a national Tory landslide.

And come the local elections, as many long serving Labour councillors were ousted by the Conservatives, it looked as though they could be right.

But it just shows how much can change in a few weeks. Nationally Jeremy Corbyn, who made a flying visit to Carlisle ahead of polling day, found his voice and Theresa May, who stayed well away from the county, saw her popularity wane.

So would it be a spectacular turnaround or a total wipeout for Labour? On election night, an early result from Workington saw Sue Hayman win with ease then, against all the odds, John Woodcock narrowly clung on to his seat in Barrow.

In the end, Cumbria finished the campaign with the same MPs it started with.

Even in the local elections, the Conservative uplift was not enough to gain control of Cumbria County Council and, having forged a fresh coalition with the Liberal Democrats, Labour’s Stewart Young remains leader.

But despite looking like nothing has changed, if you look below the surface there is a movement brewing within the local Labour party.

Fresh faces coupled with reignited passion among longer serving members means there is a new sense of optimism within the ranks.

Buoyed by Corbyn’s “for the many, not the few” mantra, local activists say they feel that they are fighting for a cause again.

But despite all the excitement on the surface, there is also some underlying concern. There have been some recent rumblings of infighting returning to the party nationally as old scores are settled.

In Cumbria, the Labour party in Copeland has taken a particularly big hit in the last six months.

First was the historic by-election defeat, losing the Parliamentary seat to Tory Trudy Harrison, then several long-serving county councillors were unseated in the local elections.

Many had hoped that voters would get a shock and return to Labour in the General Election, but there were others who questioned whether fielding Gillian Troughton as candidate so close to her by-election defeat was the right thing to do.

Former Cumbria Woman of the Year Rachel Holliday had put her name forward to run for MP, but wasn’t selected.


Rachel Holliday Despite the knock back, she supported Mrs Troughton’s campaign and canvassed on her behalf. Having talked to voters on the doorstep, she said they were fighting against an anti-Corbyn agenda fuelled by the national media. But she believes that this has now been exposed, and next time will be very different.

“We had a lot going against us in Copeland, with anti-nuclear slurs, yet we were the only party that were going to underwrite Moorside. People were saying Jeremy Corbyn will shut down Sellafield when that’s never going to happen. Jeremy Corbyn is about jobs. Also it’s not just about Jeremy Corbyn. He’s not a dictator,” she said.

“I can understand the by-election result. People were fed up and felt we weren’t getting anything. They thought if they had a Conservative MP like other areas that were doing a bit better, then maybe that would be the solution. They might be elsewhere, but they are not investing in schools and hospitals up here.”

Mrs Holliday also stood for a county council seat for the first time in Bransty, but lost out to Conservative Graham Roberts.

However that hasn’t put her off, and she said that if people wanted her to, she would try again in future.

There have been some rays of sunshine for Labour in Copeland - not least the election of Emma Williamson to represent Kells.

Despite losing council seats across the county, the party also gained in Keswick (Tony Lywood) and Alston/East Fellside (Claire Driver).

Jane Mayes ran Ms Driver’s campaign in Alston and said it was her local connections and passion for the area that really made the difference.

Mrs Holliday believes that it is people like this that can really make the difference for Labour going forward in Cumbria.

Speaking about Emma, she said: “She was brought up on Kells. I see her cutting grass up on Greenbank on her days off. She just wants to get things done, not sit around talking about it.”


Ruth Alcroft Ruth Alcroft stood as Parliamentary candidate in Carlisle, losing out to sitting MP John Stevenson. She was a new face, having only recently become a city councillor, and feels the tight timescale was her disadvantage.

Elsie Martlew, new chairwoman of the Carlisle Labour Party, has already predicted they will take the city seat at the next election.

And Ms Alcroft is keen to stand again in future, believing a fresh passion for politics has been ignited locally.

“I was really pleased with how it went. We started so far behind in the polls. It was always going to be difficult for us because I’m relatively unknown. Seven weeks isn’t really enough time,” she said.

“We had to be quite creative. Social media has worked well for us. That ties in with the youth movement we saw nationally.

“Locally we are absolutely focused. Our membership has increased massively. People are coming to meetings, wanting to get involved."

Ms Alcroft said they have to use the momentum that has built up and keep fighting for what they believe in.

“Jeremy Corbyn has found his voice and we’ve come out of it a lot stronger. People were standing up and protesting, which I’ve never really known in Carlisle. People were telling their stories - that’s where we can really hold the Government to account,” she said.

Mrs Holliday believes that Theresa May’s failure to engage with voters demonstrates that they want real people to represent them.

She said the Labour party meetings she has been to since the election have a real buzz about them, and people - inspired by Mr Corbyn and fresh policies - are ready to fight for change.

“There’s a whole new wave of politics. We are reaching out to young people that were a million miles away from it. I’m just excited to be part of it. It really is a revolution.

“When you see the crowds that Jeremy Corbyn attracts or see him up on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, it’s just so exciting. Everyone wants to live in a better world. We’ve just got a really good manifesto and people can see it could happen,” she added.


John Woodcock Barrow MP Mr Woodcock controversially clashed with his party's leader pre-election. Yet ironically it was partly down to Mr Corbyn's appeal that he retained his seat.

He now admits he was wrong, and wants to see his party unite behind their leader. "I totally underestimated Jeremy Corbyn's ability, partly to step up but particularly to appeal to younger voters," he said.

Mr Woodcock said people were telling him it was different this time, and that younger voters would come out. "I didn't believe them, but they did. And because my margin was so tight that made a difference," he said.

Is he worried the infighting will return? He hopes it won't and believes they are focused on the bigger picture. "Down in Parliament, what I see is a real hunger to hold the Government to account and press for change.

"This Government has lost its mandate. It's lost its way and it's time for the Labour Party to step in and promote an alternative. We are now a serious opposition and can be a future Government," he said.

Tomorrow: Following a return to two-party politics, where do the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Ukip go from here?