A NEW chairman has been elected for Penrith and the Border Liberal Democrats at their Annual General Meeting

Adrian Waite, the prospective candidate for the Lib Dems in Kirkby Stephen in next May’s County Council election, was elected unanimously at the meeting on Friday 6th November.

The AGM was held on Zoom for the first time in its history.

Former Chair, Lorna Baker, who stood down after three years in the role, was thanked for all her work, especially her contribution to the successful district elections in 2019 that saw a Lib Dem led administration elected at Eden District Council.

The committee has grown in numbers and more social events have been organised with Lorna at the helm and she supported councillors, organising selection committees for both district and county elections.

Councillors heard of the party's work during a particularly challenging year, remarking on how much of the response to the Covid-19 crisis falls onto the shoulders of Local rather than National Government.

Councillor Virginia Taylor, Leader of Eden District Council, summed up the Council’s activities over the stormy year: “All the new burdens that the pandemic brought - grant distribution and direct support for businesses, assistance from our Environmental Health team who have done awesome things in Tracking and Tracing Covid cases, support for hardship and homelessness, licensing and support for town centres, tourism, and being part of Emergency and Community Planning.