A LEGAL challenge into Local Government Reform will stand despite concerns from the scrutiny management board about “spiralling costs.”

Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet made the decision on September 23 to launch a legal challenge, or judicial review, into Local Government Reorganisation.

Robert Jenrick, who was Secretary of State at the time, accepted proposals to reorganise Cumbria into two unitary councils with an east and west split.

Critics of the split, particularly the Labour believe it is designed to consolidate Conservative power in the north.

But Conservatives believe the Cabinet is acting undemocratically opposing LGR as full council has indicated in a special meeting that it believes the legal challenge would be “a waste of tax payer’s money.”

They called-in the cabinet’s decision, requesting that it is examined by the Scrutiny Management Board. After a meeting on Monday, the board sent the judicial review back to Cabinet to be reconsidered.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Today the council’s Cabinet met to consider a report from Scrutiny Management Board (SMB) following the call-in by three non-executive Members which was considered at SMB's meeting on Monday.

“At their meeting SMB voted to refer the matter back to Cabinet for it to reconsider its decision. SMB’s reason for the referral was concern about the potential costs to the council of the Judicial Review process.

“Following debate on Thursday, Cabinet voted and restated their original decision to pursue Judicial Review. The council will now make arrangements to issue legal proceedings.”

The Liberal Democrat Party has received criticism for abstaining on the vote to continue with judicial review despite voting on the scrutiny panel to refer the decision back to Cabinet.

Leader of the Lib Dems and deputy leader Peter Thornton has previously said he understands concerns about LGR but that council time would be better spent preparing for the transition.

Conservative councillor Stephen Haralsden said: “It’s interesting to see how on one hand the Liberal Democrat Group can support sending it back to Cabinet and then their members abstained.

“The Liberal Democrats are the only people that could have stopped this. They do not support this move to Judicial Review. Peter Thornton has said this time and time again, so why doesn’t he vote against it?

“The key thing in all of that for me is the Lib Dems keeping saying how much they are against Judicial Review yet in Cabinet they’ve voted twice not to go the way they keep telling people.”

He said that the Lib Dems do not want to oppose Labour and lose their place in Cabinet.

Councillor Thornton said it is for the good of Cumbria not to upset the coalition they have with the Labour Party.

Cllr Thornton said: “My position is very clear, the fact is when you’ve got a Cabinet with six members who believe on thing, four members who believe something else, the four members’ votes aren’t going to change a decision.

“I would agree with Stephen the Lib Dems don’t want to bring the coalition to an end. We have a good coalition, on this one issue we have different points of view but that’s no reason to bring a successful administration to an end.

“The alternative would be an untried, inexperienced administration which would not be the best thing for Cumbria over the next few months.”

But he said that the party maintains it’s stance on Local Government Reform: “We’ve just got to get on with the job and stop messing about.”