Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill issues call for people to turnout to vote in first Greater Lincolnshire Mayor elections
A council leader has said it is ‘really important we have a good turnout’ for the election of the first mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.
Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill (Conservative – Folkingham Rural) was asked why residents who are not bothered about the mayoral election should vote — as leaders gather for the first meeting of the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA) yesterday (Thursday, March 6).
The region’s geographic scale means the authority is spending £1.65m on election costs this year, writes Local Democracy Reporter Ivan Morris Poxton.
The Government insisted on a directly-elected mayor for the county’s devolution deal. Coun Hill was appointed chair of the GLCCA at its first meeting, at Lincoln Cathedral, but will be replaced by whoever is elected as mayor.
“I think it’s very important that people engage with the process,” he said. “Whatever sort of mayor you want, you need to go out and vote for them. If you get a mayor you don’t want, well, if you don’t vote, what can you say? It’s really important we have a good turnout and people are really engaged with this, see what the mayoral candidates have to offer, and make their best choice.”
North East Lincolnshire Council’s leader Philip Jackson (Conservative – Waltham) echoed this. He said: “This is a new individual mayor who is going to be able to advocate on behalf of Greater Lincolnshire.”
Four mayoral candidates are so far confirmed for the poll on Thursday, May 1. Jason Stockwood is standing for Labour, Andrea Jenkyns for Reform UK, and Marianne Overton for Lincolnshire Independents.
North Lincolnshire Council leader Coun Rob Waltham (Brigg and Wolds) is the Conservative candidate, and already a GLCCA member.
The mayor has powers to put a charge, or precept, on households’ council tax bills to pay for administrative functions but it is not a requirement.
The GLCCA’s first meeting largely involved confirming its set-up. It will be made up of:
*The mayor, once elected
*Two constituent members each from North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, and Lincolnshire County Council
*Four non-constituent members from Lincolnshire’s district councillors – Couns Richard Wright, Naomi Tweddle, Craig Leyland and Nick Worth were appointed
*Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones, as a non-constituent member
*Neal Juster, Vice Chancellor of Lincoln University, as an interim associate member.
The Mayor and GLCCA will have power only over devolution cash – £24m a year for 30 years is guaranteed – and in areas like transport. Most decisions will require a simple majority, which includes the Mayor. In limited cases, like compulsory purchase of land, the lead member of the relevant top tier local authority can veto.
Opening the meeting, Coun Hill felt “the scale and magnificence” of Lincoln Cathedral is “sort of an inspiration to us in terms of what can be achieved if we have ambition, have patience, have a style we wish to show to the whole world”.
The grand cathedral, which was the world’s tallest building until 1548, hosted Parliament in 1216. The Duke of Lancaster arrived late, Coun Hill said: “And I think there was some fisticuffs as well. Hopefully, in the history of the mayor combined authority, things will be a lot calmer.”
Coun Rob Waltham said it was “worthy of note” that the upper tier authorities were paying into the combined authority in the first year a total of £300,000. This “limited investment” for one year only showed the councils’ commitment to it.
Where the GLCCA will meet in future is unclear. But Couns Jackson and Waltham expressed a preference for it to be roving, to the LDRS. “If we were making a decision about the Boston Bypass, it seems to me that you’d be in Boston,” said Coun Waltham.
