Council leader proposes referendum on shake-up

THE leader of Lancashire County Council believes we should have a referendum on changes to local government structures in the county.

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Stephen Atkinson, the new Reform UK leader of the authority, has floated the idea of voters having a say on both a shake up of local councils and also needing a directly-elected mayor.

Both are probably good news for Lancashire. Fewer councils means simpler services and hopefully more cost-effective ones, which should mitigate at least some council tax rises in the future.

A directly-elected mayor would be good news because it brings more money from government to be spent in the county and hopefully a powerful, single voice shouting for Lancashire.

And a public vote is the right thing to do - why shouldn't the public have a say on how their money is spent? Or, put another way, why shouldn't we have a say on how our money is spent?