Mike Starkie
Mike Starkie is a British Conservative politician who was the directly elected mayor of Copeland, for the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria.
He stood as an Independent, winning the 2015 election and beating the Labour candidate after transfer votes. In June 2020, Starkie dropped his "independent" designation and announced he had joined the Conservative Party.
He is supportive of elected mayors, and has called for a referendum on having an elected mayor for the whole county of Cumbria. Starkie was the first and only Mayor of Copeland. His position was established to replace the role of a Council leader and Cabinet. It was abolished as part of the local government reorganisation in Cumbria on 1 April 2023.
Starkie supported the Whitehaven coal mine project.