Petition launched to ‘Save Lincoln’ from Labour's mega-council plans

Lincoln’s Liberal Democrats have slammed the Labour Government’s proposals to abolish City of Lincoln Council, and have asked residents to join the campaign to save Lincoln. 

Leader of the Opposition Cllr Clare Smalley has warned Labour’s plans risk Lincoln being merged into one remote and unaccountable 'super-council' stretching from the outskirts of Grimsby to Rutland, including Gainsborough and the east coast.

The Labour Government has stated that it wants to see district councils across the UK abolished, and will start the process regardless of whether councils, residents and businesses agree or not.  

Lincolnshire is made up of Lincolnshire County Council, which runs services such as social care, transport, and education, with seven district councils running planning, parks, waste collection and other services.

Councillor Clare Smalley commented: “Labour’s bombshell plans risk unnecessarily merging Lincoln into a new remote super-council - potentially stretching from the outskirts of Grimsby to Rutland, including Gainsborough and the east coast.

“The Liberal Democrats reject this vision for our city.

“We believe that Lincoln is a unique, self-governing and historic city, and as such we do not believe that any changes to our structures are required.    

“Any other model of local government would fail to effectively represent Lincoln’s history, communities and the unique characteristics of the city.”

Councillor Martin Christopher added: “Having campaigned for a fair deal for Lincoln, we would be deeply concerned about any prospect of decisions that affect our city being taken in Grimsby, Stamford or Gainsborough, by people that know little about our city or its local communities.

“Decisions affecting Lincoln should be taken in Lincoln.

“We are also deeply concerned by the potential impact on the budgets of Lincoln’s households, as we could see council tax increases as the costs of reorganising falls on local people - hundreds of pounds for each household – with the prospect of seeing this funding being spent outside of the city”

If residents have any comments or agree with us that Lincoln should remain Lincoln, please sign the petition today.

Councillor Clare Smalley continued: “Local people will be surprised that the new Labour Government are choosing this moment to force a top-down reorganisation across the country on social care, schools and councils.

“The priority at the moment should be to get the city’s communities, businesses and residents back on their feet. This is just a needless distraction. I urge all residents to add their voice to our opposition to these plans.”

Click here to sign the petition: https://bit.ly/SaveLincoln