Lincolnshire County Council still plans to hold May elections — and wants to ‘fast track’ major political change
County council chiefs are looking to 'fast track' a major revamp of the political scene - and are working on reorganisation proposals to be submitted to the Government.
Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill (Conservative) said the county is well placed to push ahead with the biggest changes to our local government scene for 50 years - and said that the May county elections are set to proceed as planned, despite some rumours to the contrary.
In December, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner outlined plans for directly elected mayors in every region and the merging of district councils into larger authorities, as part of a devolution white paper.
Local government minister Jim McMahon claimed the changes could result in £2 billion in savings.
This all follows central government’s formal approval of the devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire, which is expected to bring £24 million annually to the region and establish an elected mayor on a new combined county authority.
The government has since invited councils to express interest in joining a priority programme for local government reorganisation.
Coun Hill explained: “The government is asking councils to come forward that want to be part of the priority programme for local government re-organisation (LGR) and devolution.
"The request is aimed at those areas that do not have a strategic authority or that need re-organisation to enable devolution.
“Greater Lincolnshire’s devolution deal is already confirmed with the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority due to be formed imminently.
“Although we do not meet the criteria for the priority programme, we don’t feel our devolution deal should be a barrier to seeking re-organisation, in fact, we are well placed to fast track re-organisation for Greater Lincolnshire.
"We will therefore be working with district councils and other partners to put a proposal together to government, that benefits our residents, as soon as possible.”
Following speculation on social media by Politics UK that Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) would be among several Conservative-controlled county councils seeking to suspend May’s local elections, the county leader had previously insisted the authority still expects elections to take place on May 1, the same day the county will choose its first mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.
Similar rumours have since resurfaced, claiming the leader was preparing to write a letter to the government requesting a suspension. However, he has once again denied these claims.
He stated: “The short answer is we’re currently preparing for our county council elections to take place as normal, unless we hear otherwise from the government.”
What do you think? Will the changes be good for Lincolnshire? Let us know your views in the comments below…
