THE Liberal Democrat group on Cumberland Council are celebrating as councillor Chris Wills joins the group. 

The city councillor and the Upperby representative on the new Cumberland authority quit Labour last month. 

It came after he said he was disallowed from standing as the party's parliamentary representative, and amid what he described as a period of 'all sorts of problems' for the party locally.

Councillor Chris Wills said: "We face some challenging times ahead and residents in Upperby Ward, and elsewhere are worried about the cost of living, crime local services and the environment.

"My priority is to work hard for residents in Upperby Ward, and I know I can best do that as part of as part of a hard-working team of Liberal Democrat councillors." 

Councillor Tim Pickstone, Cumberland leader of the Lib Dems, said: "We're delighted that Chris has joined the Liberal Democrat Party and joined the Liberal Democrat Group on Cumberland Council. 

READ MORE: Councillor quits Labour and says it's been a 'difficult few years' for the party

"We are looking forwards to working with Chris on iso many issues across Cumberland, such as access to health services, road safety, the environment and local community services," he said. 

This change means that on the new Cumberland Council, the Carlisle District is now represented by now eight Labour councillors to five Liberal Democrat councillors - three Conservatives, one Green Party and one independent. 

The move by Cllr Chris Wills has triggered calls from the Labour Party on Carlisle City Council for a by-election for the Cumberland Council seat for Upperby.

Cllr Wills has said that his decision to join the Liberal Democrats was made due to his beliefs on proportional representation.

Councillor Wills believes that Labour leader Keir Starmer has 'made clear' he does not want proportional representation.

He said he believes the Lib Dems embody 'all the best values' of the Labour Party.