Elections to Cumbria County Council were due to take place in May 2021; however, they were postponed for one year by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government due to a consultation on local government reorganisation in the area.^[9] In July 2021, the government announced that the current authorities in Cumbria would be abolished and replaced with two unitary authorities, with an east/west split of the county.^[10]

Opponents of the reorganisation claimed that the proposal was being pursued to benefit the electoral prospects of the Conservative Party. Cumbria County Council, which would be abolished under the plans, sought judicial review to prevent the reorganisation from taking place.^[11] The judicial review was refused by the High Court in January 2022.^[12] Draft statutory instruments to bring about local government reorganisation in Cumbria were subsequently laid before parliament.^[7] The Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022 (2022 No. 331) was made on 17 March 2022, and came into force the following day.^[13]

The name of the unitary authority derives from the county of Westmorland and the peninsula of Furness.^[14] Westmorland was previously an administrative county until it was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 and became part of the new county of Cumbria. Furness was part of the administrative county of Lancashire until 1974; together with the Cartmel Peninsula, it formed an exclave of that county, historically part of the Lonsdale Hundred of Lancashire known as North Lonsdale or Lancashire North of the Sands.^[15] In addition to those areas, the district includes part of the historic county of Cumberland in the Penrith area and an area centred on Sedbergh, which was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Westmorland and Furness Council has 65 councillors,^[16] and the first election to the local authority was in May 2022. At that election the Liberal Democrats secured a majority on the incoming council with 36 out of 65 councillors. Labour have 15 councillors, the Conservatives have 11 councillors, the Green Party have 1 councillor and 2 councillors were elected as independents.^[17][18]

Westmorland and Furness, together with neighbouring Cumberland, constitute a ceremonial county named "Cumbria" for the purpose of lieutenancy and shrievalties, being presided over by a Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria and a High Sheriff of Cumbria. Ceremonial counties do not discharge any administrative function.^[19][20]

Police services are provided by Cumbria Constabulary and fire services by Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service. These are both overseen by the Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.^[21]

• Barrow's shipyard is the UK's largest. BAE Systems is the current owner and employs around 12,000.^[22]
• Associated British Ports Holdings own and operate the port of Barrow.^[23]
• The only Kimberly-Clark mill in the North of England is located in Barrow.^[24]
• James Fisher & Sons, a large provider of marine engineering services, is based in Barrow.^[25]
• One of the largest single-site furniture stores in the UK, Stollers, is located in Barrow.^[26]
• Center Parcs owns a large resort in Whinfell Forest near Penrith.^[27]
• Logistics company Eddie Stobart Logistics, own a large transport depot at Penrith.
• National sawdust, animal bedding, bark suppliers and road hauliers A W Jenkinson are headquartered at Clifton, Penrith.
• Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline operates a large factory in Ulverston.^[28]
• International kitchenware retailer Lakeland has its headquarters and flagship store in Windermere.^[29]
• Kendal Nutricare Ltd now run the baby milk factory formerly operated by Farley Health Products, a subsidiary of the Heinz Company in Kendal.^[30]

The West Coast Main Railway Line runs through the district, with a stations at Penrith and Oxenholme. Services on the line are provided by Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express. The Northern Settle–Carlisle line also runs through, with stations at Armathwaite, Lazonby, Langwathby, Appleby, Kirkby Stephen, Garsdale and Dent. Other lines in the district include the Cumbrian Coast (the line terminate at Barrow-in-Furness), Furness (to Lancaster) and Lakes (which runs through Kendal).

Roads through the district include the M6 motorway, the A6 and the A66.

In terms of television, the area is covered by BBC North West and ITV Granada which both broadcast from Salford and BBC North East and Cumbria broadcasting from Newcastle and ITV Border that broadcast from Gateshead.

Radio stations for the area are BBC Radio Cumbria, BBC Radio Lancashire can also be received, Heart North West, Smooth Lake District, Greatest Hits Radio Cumbria & South West Scotland and community based stations: Eden FM Radio, Lake District Radio^[31] and Bay Trust Radio.^[32]

The district's local newspapers are The Westmorland Gazette and North West Evening Mail. ^[33]

• 2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England