Gainsborough MP has criticised the county council's devolution deal consultation process

Sir Edward Leigh, MP for Gainsborough for four decades, sent an open letter to Lincolnshire County Council over its handling of the devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire on Monday, January 8.

The Greater Lincolnshire devolution deal, announced towards the end of 2023 as part of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement, paves the way for the creation of a new combined local mayoral authority, bringing together Lincolnshire with North and North East Lincolnshire.

In the letter to Lincolnshire County Council, the Gainsborough Member of Parliament argued the consultation process for the devolution deal offered “no opportunity for members of the public to write in to give or explain their views.”

He also accused the council of devising an online survey that is “artfully phrased in order to obtain the result desired by those who have crafted it.”

Sir Edward said: “I am worried that the elderly, the vulnerable, and those who do not have easy access to the internet may be discriminated against and are being prevented to take part in this consultation.

“What measures, for example, have been taken to ensure that the blind and those with sight-related issues are able to take part?”

Coun Colin Davie, executive councillor for Economic Development, Environment and Planning at Lincolnshire County Council, said he was a “big supporter” of devolution for the Greater Lincolnshire area, and suggested that perhaps the Gainsborough MP had been in his post for “too long.”

He said: “I’ve got a great deal of time for Edward Leigh.

“He and I see the world, in certain aspects, in the same way, but I’m afraid to say he’s totally wrong. Maybe he’s been around too long, maybe it’s time for a change, too.”

For more information about the devolution deal visit www.letstalk.lincolnshire.gov.uk/devolution.