City of Lancaster

The City of Lancaster, or simply Lancaster (), is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Lancaster, and also includes the towns of Carnforth, Heysham and Morecambe and a wider rural hinterland. The district has a population of 145,006 (2024), and an area of 219 square miles (567 km2). Much of the district's rural area is recognised for its natural beauty; it includes part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and parts of the designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty of Arnside and Silverdale and the Forest of Bowland. The neighbouring districts are Westmorland and Furness, North Yorkshire, Ribble Valley and Wyre.

1. History

The town of Lancaster was an ancient borough, with its earliest known charter dating from 1193. A later charter in 1337 gave it the right to appoint a mayor. It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Lancaster", but generally known as the corporation or town council. In 1937 the borough was awarded city status. The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the territory of five former districts which were abolished at the same time:

Carnforth Urban District Lancaster Municipal Borough Lancaster Rural District Lunesdale Rural District Morecambe and Heysham Municipal Borough The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Lancaster's series of mayors dating back to 1337. The city status which had been held by the old municipal borough of Lancaster since 1937 was also transferred to the new district on its creation. Since 1 August 2016 the district has included a small part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

1. Governance

Lancaster City Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Much of the district is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. In the part of the district within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. The city council appoints one of its councillors to serve on the 25-person National Park Authority.

1. = Political control =

The first election to the city council as enlarged by the Local Government Act 1972 was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: In the late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century, the city council was under the control of the Morecambe Bay Independents (MBIs), who campaigned for an independent Morecambe council. In 2003, their influence waned and Labour became the largest party on the council. They formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and Greens. At the May 2007 local elections, Labour lost ground to the Greens in Lancaster and the MBIs in Morecambe, resulting in no overall control, with all parties represented in a PR administration. The 2011 elections saw Labour emerge as the largest party. They reached a joint administrative arrangement with the Greens. The 2019 Lancaster City Council election results put no party in overall control. The council was run by a coalition of Labour, Green, Eco-Socialist Independent and Liberal Democrat councillors, supported by the Independent Group, with Conservatives and MBIs in opposition. The cabinet consisted of 4 Labour, 4 Green, 1 Eco-Socialist, 1 Independent Group. At 10 seats, Lancaster had one of the country's largest Green Party representations. The 2023 Lancaster City Council election resulted in a council with Labour as the largest party but not in overall control, with 24 of the 61 seats.

1. = Leadership =

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Lancaster, with political leadership instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1993 have been:

1. = Composition =

Following the 2023 election, and subsequent changes of allegiance up to June 2025, the composition of the council was:

Two of the three independent councillors sit together as a group. The next election is due in 2027.

1. = Elections =

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 61 councillors representing 27 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The district contains parts of two parliamentary constituencies: Lancaster and Wyre and Morecambe and Lunesdale. Both have been held by Labour since 2024. The district contains 10 of the 82 electoral divisions for elections to Lancashire County Council: Heysham, Lancaster Central, Lancaster East, Lancaster Rural East, Lancaster Rural North, Lancaster South East, Morecambe Central, Morecambe North, Morecambe South, and Skerton. Elections are held every four years. In the 2025 county council elections, Reform UK won control of the county and seven of the district's seats, the other three being won by the Green Party of England and Wales.

1. = Premises =

The council has two main meeting places, both inherited from predecessor authorities: Lancaster Town Hall and Morecambe Town Hall. Full council meetings are held in the larger council chamber of Morecambe Town Hall, but Lancaster Town Hall is also used for committee meetings and houses administrative functions.

1. Demography

At the 2011 UK census, the City of Lancaster had a total population of 138,375. Of the 57,822 households in the city, 33.5% were married couples living together, 31.9% were one-person households, 7.8% were co-habiting couples and 10.0% were lone parents. These figures were similar to the national averages. The population density was 233/km2 (600/sq mi) and for every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. Of those aged 16–74 in Lancaster, 26.7% had no academic qualifications, lower than 28.9% in all of England. The city of Lancaster had a higher proportion of white people than England.

1. = Population change =

The table below details the population change since 1801, including the percentage change since the last available census data. Although the City of Lancaster has existed as a district since 1974, figures have been generated by combining data from the towns, villages, and civil parishes that would later be constituent parts of the city.

1. = Religion =

At the 2011 UK census, 65.9% of Lancaster's population reported themselves as Christian, 1.3% Muslim, 0.4% Buddhist, 0.3% Hindu, 0.1% Jewish, and 0.1% Sikh. 24.5% had no religion, 0.5% had an alternative religion and 7.1% did not state their religion. The city is covered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster, and the Church of England Diocese of Blackburn.

1. Economy

At the United Kingdom Census 2001, the City of Lancaster had 97,365 residents aged 16 to 74. Of these people, 4.0% were students with jobs, 9.6% students without jobs, 5.1% looking after home or family, 6.0% permanently sick or disabled and 2.8% economically inactive for other reasons. In 2001, of the 55,906 residents of the City of Lancaster in employment, the industry of employment was 16.7% retail and wholesale, 14.2% health and social work, 11.4% education, 11.2% manufacturing, 7.8% property and business services, 6.7% construction, 6.7% hotels and restaurants, 6.5% transport and communications, 5.7% public administration and defence, 2.5% finance, 2.4% energy and water supply, 2.2% agriculture, 0.4% mining, and 5.3% other. This was roughly in line with national figures, although the proportion of jobs in agriculture which was more than the national average of 1.5% and the percentage of people working in finance was below the national average of 4.8%; the proportion of people working in property was well below the national average of 13.2%.

1. Media

The area is served by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Radio stations for the area are BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Radio Cumbria, Heart North West, Smooth North West, and Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire. Beyond Radio is a voluntary, non-profit community radio station for Lancaster and Morecambe.

1. Settlements


1. = Civil parishes =

Most of the district's area is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Carnforth and Morecambe have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council".

Most of the area of the pre-1974 city of Lancaster is an unparished area, as is the Heysham area of the former borough of Morecambe and Heysham.