South Lincolnshire Green Party has opposed the imposition of a mayor on Lincolnshire, as announced by the Government on the day of the Autumn Statement.
Martin Blake, joint co-ordinator for the South Holland area, said: “This is a scheme cooked up by a small number of senior Conservatives in the county, not one for which there is any evidence of public support.
“It will impose a further layer of bureaucracy as there are no plans, as far as we can tell, to reduce the number of local authorities in thecounty.
“Greens believe that decisions should be taken as close as possible to the people they affect, and this moves us in completely the opposite direction.
“Who will the mayor be answerable to? How much of the promised additional £24m per year (assuming it even materialises) will be swallowed up by the additional administration, rents and salaries which will be the inevitable result?
“It’s in any case a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of millions of pounds which this Government has withheld from Lincolnshire councils since 2010.
“Trust in local government is already at a low level, as evidenced by the painfully low turnout in elections, including for the existing county-wide Police and Crime Commissioner.
“The imposition of a mayor on our county risks putting the final nail in the coffin.”
South Lincs Green Party
