AN elected mayor has slammed councillors after seeing plans to slash their numbers rejected.

Mike Starkie said he was "doubly disappointed" at seeing the independent recommendation fall through after a three-line whip among the ranks.

The recommendation suggested reducing the size of Copeland Borough Council by more than a third, from 51 to 33.

Mr Starkie said: "I’m disappointed this recommendation has been rejected – and I’m doubly disappointed that it has been rejected in a three-line whipped vote in which the majority of councillors put party politics and self-interest above an independent recommendation and the views of the electorate.

"I’ve had a long-held belief that this council is over-governed and the number of 51 is disproportionately high.

"I will therefore submit the report to the Local Government Boundary Commission that the council size should reduce to 33, supported by the independent research, albeit without the support of the Labour Group on the council. I thank all the non-Labour councillors who supported this unanimously.

"This council has changed beyond recognition in the past 20 years, in terms of budget, staff and responsibilities, and yet the figure of 51 councillors has remained the same, with the ratio of councillors to the electorate as the lowest in Cumbria. This has to change."

Among the votes for the change was Millom Town and Copeland Borough Councillor Felicity Wilson.

She said: "The council made a democratic decision to have the Boundary Commission look at this.

"When you look at the council we have far more councillors per electorate than most places locally. You could argue rural areas give councillors more ground to cover, but they've made this decision.

"How can we go back on that? That's what I find quite difficult.

"Sometimes you ask for something and you don't like the answer, but you've got to live with it.

"We all want to work together to do what's best for our community and for Copeland."

The move was rejected at a borough council meeting on Thursday night, with 24 votes to 17.

Many Labour members spoke out against the measure, saying slashing the numbers was "a step too far".

All Labour members voted against the proposals in a three-line whip, all Conservative members voted for the proposals and Independent votes were split.

Councillors raised a number of issues including effectiveness, workload, major developments and the rural nature of the area.