Council leader talks about plans for Lincolnshire in 2026
The leader of Lincolnshire County Council has laid out some of his plans for the coming year.
Reform will be setting the county’s budget for the first time, and says it’s still on a mission to cut waste.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to Councillor Sean Matthews about the upcoming year.
Council tax will be going up this year, the Reform leader says.
Coun Matthews said: “It would be unheard of for it not to. The question is if it will be below the rate of inflation, so effectively a cut.”
He says Reform never promised not to raise council tax during last year’s elections.
He said: “We stood on a manifesto to cut waste, reduce costs and have a sensible approach to governing. We will do everything we can to keep council tax as low as possible.”
Coun Matthews has ruled out launching any major new road projects, saying the council is still paying for previous ones.
He said: “The council is £800million in debt, and it will be added to because of the North Hykeham Relief Road started by the previous administration.
“We need to clear that debt. It has already started going down by around £5million since we came into office, but needs to be much lower.
“Until we get a grip of that, we can’t afford the luxury.”
The council’s debt is currently around £450million, although the need to borrow will rise to around £800m for the 2026/27 financial year due to major projects which have been committed to.
He said the council still needs to deal with delays to the Grantham bypass due to a design error, and the Spalding ‘Road to Nowhere’ which remains unfinished.
However, he doesn’t rule out bidding for government funding for projects.
Reform promised to send a cost-cutting unit around councils it won control of, modelled after Elon Musk’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’.
However, Coun Matthews says it “proved to be far more complex legally” than expected, and councils are now being asked to do it themselves.
He said: “It is more of a philosophy than a team. We just cracked on with it, and it’s what we do day-to-day.”
Boston MP Richard Tice, who is co-leading the effort, is providing advice and guidance to councils.
Coun Matthews has pledged to “lay down in front of bulldozers” to stop the construction of solar farms, and 2026 might be the year it happens.
He said: “I’ve got my wellies ready – they’re in the back of the car in case I have to rush out to a site somewhere.
“I completely oppose solar panels on Lincolnshire farmland. It’s a temporary fix for a problem that doesn’t really exist.
“I look forward to developing future tech like STEP fusion near Gainsborough rather than relying on Chinese solar panels.”
Other Reform councils have hit the national headlines for the wrong reasons, but Lincolnshire has mostly flown under the radar with a lack of drama.
Coun Matthews said: “It’s not a conscious strategy, it’s just the way I manage it.
“We’ve got a great group of people and try to be inclusive with everyone. On Local Government Reorganisation, we talked it through with the whole group and came to a decision, which stops dissent.”
He said the public is watching to see whether Reform is capable of governing ahead of the next General Election.