Calls for respectful conduct at County Hall fall over within a month

A police meeting at County Hall over the conduct of local politicians has not yielded the ho

Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.

Aside from being a huge problem for the councillors themselves, local authorities in England must be throwing up their hands in despair at the state of the current debate in politics.

That’s because they can do next-to-nothing to police what councillors say and how they behave, particularly online. Unless local political leaders step in, or something crosses the line into being a crime, it’s basically open season for any kind of conduct. Until the next election, anyway.

That’s particularly pertinent where a police visit to County Hall to encourage more respectful exchanges between local politicians appears to have fallen on deaf ears. That’s the topic of today’s newsletter.

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Lancashire briefing

✈️ Lancashire will attempt to secure up to £20m from a government cash pot by capitalising on the county’s defence capabilities. The bid – for an allocation from the Local Innovation Partnership Fund (LIPF) – will stress Lancashire’s strengths as a cluster area for industries focused on security and “critical national infrastructure”. It will also highlight so-called “cross-cutting” opportunities in advanced manufacturing, engineering and cyber resilience. The Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) devolution body will oversee the process and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the organisation that will decide whether bids from across the country succeed or fail – wants local areas to demonstrate that their plans are based on a collaboration between universities, industry and local and national government. To that end, the LCCA has established a steering group via the Lancashire Innovation Board to lead the bid preparation, including representatives from all five universities with a footprint in the county, major businesses such as BAE Systems and the Westinghouse nuclear power firm near Preston and small and medium sized supply-chain companies.

🎇 Rossendale councillors have called for an end to ‘hostile, toxic’ politics, saying abuse, intimidation and misinformation is damaging local democracy. The leader of Rossendale Council said an effigy of her was burned at a local bonfire and other councillors revealed other incidents at the latest full council meeting. Labour Cllr Alyson Barnes, the council leader, said: “I have suffered from the keyboard warriors but I’ve got broad shoulders and can cope with most of it. But on November 5 an effigy of me was burnt on a bonfire. It wouldn’t be a big step for someone to come to my back door. So I’ve asked for my home address to be taken off the council website.” She added: “This motion is really important. The basic principle is about respect. We councillors are 30 different people who have been elected by communities. That fact needs to be respected.” Reform UK Cllr Mackenzie Ritson supported the motion but recommended an addition. He wanted to ensure councillors and officers respected the public and upheld the Nolan Principles, especially about ‘openness, accountability and honesty at all times in interactions with residents’.

🌊 Major progress will need to be made on the Eden Project Morecambe if it is to open as planned late in 2028. The £100m scheme has been delayed by changing governments and general elections, rising costs and re-designs. But Eden and other partners insist the project is progressing. Planning permission was first granted in 2022 for four shell-like domes and spaces. But it was scaled back to two main domes and gardens in a new application in autumn 2025. Consultation on the updated plan is underway now and will run into early 2026. Then a formal planning decision will be made. Eden needs to find £50m in donations and sponsorship, while £50m has been allocated from the UK government.

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Calls for respectful conduct at County Hall fall over within a month

Cllr Luke Parker

By Luke Beardsworth

Calls for a return to respectful dialogue at County Hall almost lasted a full month.

Political leaders at Lancashire County Council met with Lancashire Constabulary on 1 December to discuss concerns including over how councillors use social media.

County Hall said the meeting was ‘productive’ and designed to encourage ‘high standards’ but Labour claimed that the previously cordial atmosphere had changed since Reform UK took control in May 2025.

Reform UK dismissed that allegation, and others like it, as ‘vexatious’ and part of a pattern seen across the country.

But any progress was dealt a blow over Christmas by a number of posts by Cllr Luke Parker, who represents Preston East at Lancashire County Council for Reform UK.

His first post, on 30 December, took aim at Labour’s Cllr Samara Barnes, for Rossendale West, and Lib Dem Cllr Fiona Duke, for Preston North. A video was posted accusing both councillors of racism against white men after criticism of an all-white, all-male Reform UK cabinet at Lancashire County Council.

Cllr Barnes said that the video has been edited to remove the context of the discussion - which was the signing off of new Equality and Fairness policies.

She said that the video was created by Cllr Tom Pickup, who has since been suspended by Reform UK and is sitting as an independent.

When that video was first published in November 2025, Lancashire Constabulary placed a marker on Cllr Barnes’ home due to the heightened risk of violence towards her - something that contributed to the decision to hold the meeting between police and Lancashire County Council.

The video was removed by Cllr Pickup at the request of Reform UK’s council leader Cllr Stephen Atkinson, The Lancashire Lead understands.

What happened when Cllr Luke Parker reposted the video on 30 December is somewhat less clear.

The Lancashire Lead has seen emails of Mark Wynn, the council’s non-political chief executive, assuring that Cllr Parker had been asked to remove the video as well as acknowledging it as ‘unsettling’ and offering support.

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council told The Lancashire Lead that the chief executive would never directly instruct a councillor to remove a social media post and that would be something for Reform UK to do.

The response from the Reform UK deputy leader

A spokesperson for Reform UK told The Lancashire Lead that nobody from Reform UK has told Cllr Parker to remove his posts.

Cllr Parker added that he stands by his comments and posts in relation to Cllr Barnes and Labour.

Someone is not telling the full truth somewhere in those statements - but what’s clear is Cllr Parker followed up with another post on 31 December.