Nottinghamshire County Council leader Cllr Mick Barton has his say on LGR, trains and fuel duty…
As many of you know, Reform does not support Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). But when we took over the running of Nottinghamshire County Council, the decision was still unresolved. We had to respond: if we did nothing, the Government would make the choice for us.
In August, the Government chose the City Council’s proposal, known as Option 1bii. We were concerned about how it reached that decision because, in our view, the proposal did not meet the criteria we had been asked to work to. We wrote to the Government three times asking it to explain its reasoning. On more than one occasion, we were asked to give it more time to provide that explanation, even though the decision had already been made.
The County Council’s option 1b was financially viable and sustainable short and long term. This would have kept the SEND service and Adult Social Care service in a safe place going forward.
On 7 September, the Government announced a national review and paused work on the decisions made in July, including the decision for Nottinghamshire. The process has been paused, not stopped. That is why I have continued to seek legal advice about a possible Judicial Review.
I welcome the Secretary of State’s decision to pause the process. I also believe that pressure from Reform played a part in bringing about that decision. Reform has asked why its proposals were set aside, and in my view, politics influenced the outcome.
Residents deserve answers. Any legal challenge would examine whether the Government reached its decision lawfully and fairly and followed its own rules. It would be about the decision-making process, rather than simply disagreeing with the result.
East Midlands Railway and Fuel Duty
I recently appeared on the BBC’s Sunday Politics show alongside Lilian Greenwood MP and Sharman Rahman, the Green Party’s parliamentary candidate for Leicester South.
We discussed delays on East Midlands Railway. I was concerned to hear about faults affecting its new Hitachi Class 810 Aurora trains and the disruption this is causing passengers. Some electrical faults cannot be fixed quickly where the trains are, leaving them out of service. In my view, EMR would have been better served by continuing with Bombardier Transportation trains, which I believe were more reliable.
We also discussed fuel duty. I made the point that motorists pay 53.95p per litre in fuel duty, with VAT adding further to the cost at the pump. I believe the Government should look at ways to ease that burden for residents and businesses, large and small. Reform’s petrol station events have shown the change we would make if we were in government. The Government could act now to help taxpayers.
