Spalding councillor Rob Gibson is officially chosen as Lincolnshire County Council deputy leader
Rob Gibson has officially been appointed as the new deputy leader of Lincolnshire County Council — and will play a key role in the biggest political change for a generation.
The former South Holland Independents councillor, who joined Reform UK in March, was named as part of the council's new executive team during its annual general meeting on Friday (May 23).
His portfolio will cover local government reorganisation, community engagement, complaints, and communications.
Coun Gibson, who also sits on South Holland District Council, previously served in the armed forces and has since gone on to run two homeless shelters — one in Spalding and another in Holbeach.
However, he has recently handed in his notice, stating: "I think if you're going to be the leader or deputy leader, it should be full-time, so sadly I have had to resign, but I think it's the right thing to do."
In December 2024, the Labour government outlined plans to reform local government, scrapping two-tier systems — which include county and district councils — in favour of new unitary authorities, each serving a population of around 500,000. These new bodies could come into effect by May 2028.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after Friday's meeting, he underlined the significance of local government reorganisation, describing it as the central focus of his portfolio.
He said: "Local government reorganisation is going to be the most important thing we do over the next two, three, four years, however long it is going to take. It is going to affect everybody in Lincolnshire, like some things do, and we've got to get it right."
Councils were invited to submit interim proposals on how Greater Lincolnshire should be divided under the new system by late March, with final proposals due in November.
Coun Gibson told members during the meeting that a response had been received from the government, but it simply stated: "You will get a letter soon."
Eight different proposals were submitted by various authorities, but the new deputy leader believes a two-unitary model would be the best approach.
He said: "My initial thoughts were the further we move our elected people away from our residents, the worse it is for our residents.
"I feel residents like to be close to their elected representatives — they like to be able to talk to them, ask them stuff, get them to do stuff, attend events, etc."
With that in mind, he continued: "I do have a caveat on that. Children's services and adult services — to split that in half, I think, would be time-consuming, expensive, and a concern. So, I do wonder if we need to think of an option where we keep those together."
