Should Lancashire County Council staff fear for their jobs?
PLUS: What the report into violence after the Southport attacks tells us about our area
Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.
As widely expected and predicted, Cllr Stephen Atkinson - who earlier this year defected to Reform UK from the Conservatives - is the new Reform UK leader locally and will therefore become the leader of Lancashire County Council.
That decision emerged on Monday this week and Cllr Atkinson spoke to reporters outside County Hall afterwards and appeared to confirm there would indeed be changes made that would affect people’s employment - but that they would be respectful and dignified in doing so.
In this edition, we also look at a new report into the riots which followed the Southport murders last summer.
Reform UK leader pledges to be ‘respectful' and ‘dignified’ in plans for change that could cost jobs
By Paul Faulkner
Stephen Atkinson is set to become the leader of Lancashire County Council after the Reform UK group that now controls the authority installed him at their helm.
The former Ribble Valley Borough Council leader – who was a Conservative until just two months ago, when he defected to Nigel Farage’s party – said that his new administration would “really…make a difference” to Lancashire.
Reform surged to victory in Lancashire at the local elections earlier this month, ousting the Conservatives after eight years in charge.
Speaking to reporters on the steps of County Hall – just moments after being unanimously voted in by the 53-strong group of newly-elected Reform county councillors – County Cllr Atkinson acknowledged the limitations of his control over some of the national policies on which Reform campaigned in the local poll, including on immigration and asylum.
However, he said he would be telling the Home Office that the people of Lancashire “did not vote for asylum seekers to come here”.
“I think Zia [Yusuf, Reform UK party chair] has been really clear – we want to check the legal basis of these changes of use in hotels and some accommodation [to house asylum seekers] to see if it is being done legally,” County Cllr Atkinson said, while noting that housing is the responsibility of district councils in ‘two-tier” areas like Lancashire.
He added: “We’ve got national policy…but we will be considered in our approach – we’ll not be reckless, but we have a clear focus to deliver on those issues.
“The British people are fed up – they’ve been put to the back of the queue for too long – and this is a chance to make a difference. And what will happen in 2029 [the expected year of the next general election] is Nigel Farage will make a much bigger difference.”
Asked what was top of his to-do list, County Cllr Atkinson – who is now officially leader-elect of Lancashire County Council and will be confirmed in post at the authority’s annual general meeting on 22nd May – said the priority was to have a “deep dive into the budget”.
“We need to make sure that those savings to deliver a balanced budget are happening – and I’ve got the chief executive working on that as we speak,” he said.
The authority’s budget in February revealed the need to find just over £100m of savings in the next two years, around half of which have had to be carried over having not previously been achieved.
Quizzed on whether any Lancashire County Council employees should be fearful for their jobs after Nigel Farage suggested those working on diversity programmes or climate change initiatives at any of the 10 county councils Reform now controls should be “seeking alternative careers”, County Cllr Atkinson said:
“Staff know what our policies are – we will follow process, we will be respectful [and] we will be dignified, but we have an electoral mandate to deliver what we said we would do.
“And that’s what’s gone wrong in this country. – too many political parties have actually said they’re going to do something, got elected and then not done it.”
County Cllr Atkinson – who won one of the safest county council seats in Lancashire when he secured Ribble Valley South West at the local elections – said he was honoured to lead what he described as the “amazing” people who make up the new Reform UK group in Lancashire.
“We have a mission to deliver for the people of Lancashire, to work with the officers and to put people front and centre of all our decision-making.
“We think that Lancashire will become an exemplar council for the whole of the country – and the work starts today.”
Asked whether he really wanted the job – given he could never have predicted he would end up with it when he announced his intention – prior to his defection – to stand down as Ribble Valley Borough Council leader after six years, County Cllr Atkinson said he sought the new role, “because I love my country.”
“This is the start of rebuilding Britain,” he declared.
County Cllr Simon Evans, member for Skelmersdale Central, was elected as Reform’s deputy leader in Lancashire.
Recommended reading this week
🔥 One in eight households in Lancaster are estimated to be in fuel poverty, new figures show. It comes as Sir Keir Starmer defended the Government's decision to axe winter fuel payments, as Kemi Badenoch urged him to "change course" to tackle energy costs. More from the Lancaster Guardian here.
🟢 A warning has been issued about the dangers of lighting barbecues or campfires on peatland due to the risk of sparking "uncontrollable" wildfires. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) said it had tackled several blazes in remote peatland across the county, mainly sparked by disposable barbecue trays. More from the BBC here.
🍴 Blog Preston’s history expert Beth Mairs has written about the history of the parched pea. She also gave them a try - which in itself is always fascinating when someone has never even seen them before. Forgive us for the lack of parched pea emoji by having a read here.
‘No single issue’ caused disorder in the days that followed Southport triple murder
By Jamie Lopez
A report into the riots which followed the Southport murders last summer has concluded “no single issue” caused the disorder to spread.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Lancashire Lead to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.