The first meeting of Lincolnshire County Council since the election saw Refom UK’s Sean Matthews elected leader and Spalding east representative Rob Gibson his deputy.
The Reform group’s lack of political experience came under fire during the meeting, but Coun Matthews insisted the new councillors would shake the council up, writes Local Democracy Reporter James Turner
“We are new, we’re fresh, and we’re here to break the mould and bring different views and opinions in running the council,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“That’s democracy. The only person here with experience of running a council is [former leader] Coun Martin Hill, and he didn’t win a majority.”
As well as being named deputy, former South Holland Independents Coun Rob Gibson, who joined Reform UK in March, was named in a portfolio role that will cover local government reorganisation, community engagement, complaints and communications.
Coun Gibson 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.”
On reorganisation 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.
“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.”
Liberal Democrat Stephen Bunny was elected to the position of chair after being nominated by the Reform Party.
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Reform UK has scrapped a flooding committee on its first day in charge on Lincolnshire County Council, despite pleas from other parties to save it.
The new administration said the change would save money and simplify the council without harming efforts to fight flooding.
The Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee previously allowed councillors to hold bodies like Anglian Water, the Environment Agency and Internal Drainage Boards to account.
Flooding will now sit within the Environment Committee, which already deals with issues such as waste and pollution, and those groups won’t automatically be invited.
It will now meet eight times per year instead of four.
Opposition councillors described the change as a “downgrade” which meant flooding would be put on the back-burner and partnerships would be damaging.
Coun Ian Carrington said: “Flooding isn’t just about technical solutions, it requires a web of complex relationships to work better. Those are forged and sustained in this committee.
“Abolishing it will reduce co-operation and silence voices which should be heard.”
Labour group leader Coun Karen Lee described the change as “reckless, foolhardy and wrong.”
Independent leader Coun Phil Dilks said even more dedicated time was needed, not less.
Some councillors remarked that it was unusual for Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Independents to all agree on the same issue.
Coun Lindsey Cawrey said: “This proposal is made out of inexperience, although there are good intentions.
“Please don’t disagree because we’re the opposition, listen because we have had many years of waking up at 3am to calls about flooding.”
Lincolnshire suffered some of the worst flooding in its history during from deluges in Storm Babet and Henk, along with fresh flooding in January.
Reform councillor Danny Brookes, who takes over the portfolio for environment, insisted: “This is an upgrade, not a downgrade. Existing partnerships maintained and enhanced.”
New leader Sean Matthews promised the new administration would work “longer and harder on flooding than ever before.”
“Whether you think it’s man-made or a natural cycle of events, we won’t neglect flooding. We were elected on a mandate of reducing waste and simplifying the council, and this will do that.”
An amendment to stop the change was defeated along party lines, with all Reform members against and all opposition councillors voting in favour.
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As members of the new look county council met for the first time this week, the Conservatives defended their record in power.
‘Lincolnshire is broken’ has been the claim from Nigel Farage and the Reform UK party.
He accused the authority of ‘not moving with the times’ and said it needed ‘more professional business management.’
But the national watchdogs which oversee a range of services within the sector beg to differ, writes Local Democracy Reporter Jamie Waller.
Ofsted found that the county’s children’s services were ‘Outstanding’ at the last inspection in 2023.
“Children in care are well cared for and make excellent progress,” the report said.
But it was less impressed with Special Educational Needs Services which the council delivers in partnership with the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board. An inspection published in February said there were ‘inconsistent experiences and outcomes.’
Social care is one of the most expensive parts of the council’s work and Ofsted rated it as Good in 2023.
Reform has also argued that the county council has unnecessarily run up debt.
The authority confirmed in April that it had debts of £469m, but former leader Martin Hill said it was no different to most councils.
“We typically borrow from the Public Loans Board at cheap rates to pay for major projects,” he said.
The most recent report from an external auditor found there were no ‘significant risks or weaknesses,’ in the finances.
There’s no highways watchdog as such, but a 2023 report found 660 miles of roads were ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.
The council received £60m in December to repair roads, but said it needed £400m.
