In May 2025 Lancashire elected a Reform-led county council with a four-year mandate. Three years in, the Government is scrapping it. Whatever your politics, abolishing an elected council mid-term should trouble every democrat.

Blackpool Council's cumulative debt has been reported at around £570 million, while Fylde is debt-free with millions in reserves. Merging them means prudent taxpayers become liable for borrowing they never voted for. We are demanding full transparency and safeguards before day one.

In each new council, larger urban centres will dominate the numbers. Rural villages and market towns risk being permanently outvoted on planning, spending and services. Fair representation must be built into the new councils from the start.

Lancashire's boroughs have centuries of distinct history — and some hold reserves their residents built up. Any new structure must protect local identity, local assets and locally-held money, not swallow them.

Through the whole transition, our councillors keep delivering: roads, Trading Standards, social care and waste. No excuses, no drift, no service left behind while structures are argued over.

Residents across Lancashire currently pay different council tax rates. When councils merge, those rates get "harmonised" — and history shows harmonisation usually means levelling up to the highest bill, not down to the lowest. We will fight for any harmonisation to protect residents in lower-rate areas, with the pace and direction made public before the new councils set a single budget.