Commenting on the result, new Lib Dem county councillor Jim Tootle said, "Thank you to all those who voted for me when I successfully defended Castle Ward following the resignation of Olwyn Luckley. I will do my best to serve everyone in the ward over the next 4 years."

Former Lib Dem county councillor Olwyn Luckley, who remains on Carlisle City Council, said, "Jim's work in the ward has again been recognised by residents.

"The claim by Labour in the campaign that the Lib Dem councillors are rarely seen in the ward is by evidence abject nonsense and insulting to a team of hardworking councillors who work all the year round on residents' problems, unlike those who appear only at election time to throw undeserved brickbats at those working day after day in the ward."