A special full council meeting will be held after Conservative Councillor Philip Jackson, Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, wrote to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in support of reducing the number of councils in the county from ten to two.
The proposal, which has faced widespread criticism from other political groups in the borough, was described as “undemocratic” by the North East Lincolnshire Labour Party. It also led the local Liberal Democrats to launch a petition opposing the creation of a ‘mega-council.’
Councillors from the local Reform and Independent groups have now called for a special full council meeting to address the proposal and contents of the letter.
As previously reported, the Conservative leaders of North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, and Lincolnshire County Council jointly sent the letter in January, expressing support for reducing the number of local authorities in the county. This follows a government call for the reorganisation of two-tier council areas.
The letter stated that the three leaders believed they have the “support and capacity in place to move at pace to bring forward a new model of local government for Greater Lincolnshire.”
Responding to the letter, Councillor Steve Holland, Leader of the Independent Group, previously said: “We are talking about a new Local Authority which will include North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and the area from Louth to Gainsborough. We have not even had a Full Council meeting to discuss this.“
He refuted the claim that Conservative councillors had support to make it happen quickly, stating that “there is not a shred of evidence to support that.“
In an updated statement, Councillor Holland, added: “We were told that devolution would not change at all how North East Lincolnshire Council will be run, and yet we see the next stage in the plan already.
“The creation of just 2 councils for the whole of Lincolnshire and the end of local democracy as we know it. More and more power is being placed in the hands of fewer and fewer people. Lincolnshire is just too big geographically to be run by a mayor and a select handful of others.”
If the reorganisation moves forward, it could result in the dissolution of Lincolnshire’s district councils, a possible merger of North East Lincolnshire Council and North Lincolnshire Council, and the potential postponement or cancellation of the 2026 local election. The local elections scheduled for May 2025 will proceed as planned.
The special full council meeting to discuss the issue will be held at 7PM on Wednesday 19 February.
Part of the Gi Grimsby News team since 2020.