Local government reorganisation 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 Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proposal – known as Option A – 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 openness. Asking elected representatives to endorse an unseen proposal fails these tests by any reasonable measure.
But the concerns do not end inside the Council chamber.
External partners, including NHS organisations, were asked to endorse Option A without being given the proposal either. Some statutory consultees effectively gave their blessing long before any detailed documents were published. How, then, can public bodies claim to have offered meaningful scrutiny? How can the Government place any weight on such endorsements? And how can those NHS organisations now respond to the upcoming statutory consultation without being pre-determined?
The public, too, were left in the dark. The proposal was only published one day before the submission deadline. Residents, parish councils, community groups, and other stakeholders were shut out of the process. This last-minute release made it impossible for communities to understand the detail and offer informed comment, despite the Government’s explicit requirement for transparency and local consent.
Equally problematic is the lack of cooperation across local authorities. While six of the seven councils collaborated on Option B, the County Council chose to press ahead with Option A alone. Aside from a shared data set, there was no joint work, despite repeated efforts from other councils to engage constructively. For a process that is meant to demonstrate collaboration and consensus, this is a big red flag.
Taken together, these issues raise serious questions about democratic legitimacy. How can a proposal claim to represent local consensus when so many key voices – councillors, partner organisations, parish councils, and the public – were excluded from meaningful involvement?
The Government now faces a critical choice: whether to accept a proposal submitted under these circumstances or to insist on the transparency, accountability, and due process that residents deserve and that other proposals took the trouble to comply with. At stake is not simply which model of local government prevails, but whether the process of arriving at that model is one that commands public trust.
Cambridgeshire residents deserve better than a vote without the facts. They deserve a process that reflects the seriousness of the decision, and one that treats democratic scrutiny as a foundation, not an inconvenience.
Anna Bailey
East Cambs District Council, Member for the Downham Ward
Leader of the Council
Deputy Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
Chairman of East Cambs Community Land Trust
Deputy Chair Political of Ely & East Cambridgeshire Conservative Association
