A Vote Without the Facts: Why Cambridgeshire County Council’s Reorganisation Process Should Concern Us All Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) is no small matter. It will reshape how services are delivered, who makes the big decisions, and how nearly one million residents across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are represented. When done well, it can streamline bureaucracy, save public money, and improve accountability. When done badly it risks long-term consequences for communities who had little say in the process. That is why the events surrounding Cambridgeshire County Council’s recent decision to submit its preferred LGR proposal - known as Option A (which sees East Cambs being placed in a Greater Cambridge Unitary Council) - to the Secretary of State raises serious alarm bells. The most fundamental issue is as astonishing as it is troubling: Councillors were asked to vote on the proposal without ever having seen it. Instead, members were offered a brief officer overview and expected to approve a document that remained entirely out of view until after the vote had taken place.
For a decision that could overhaul the entire structure of local government, such a process is not just inadequate, it is undemocratic.
National expectations for LGR proposals are crystal clear: decisions should be based on robust evidence, transparent processes, meaningful engagement, and properly informed democratic scrutiny. None of these conditions were met. The County Council’s approach isn’t simply a matter of political disagreement; it represents a departure from the standards of good governance set out in the CIPFA/IFAC framework, which emphasises informed decision-making and 10
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