Editing Lincolnshire (section)

==Governance==
{{Main|Politics of Lincolnshire}}
[[File:Lincolnshire UK parish map (blank).svg|thumb|upright|Map of the 623 civil parishes within Lincolnshire]]

===Local government history===
The [[Local Government Act 1888]] established [[county council]]s for each of the parts of Lincolnshire – Lindsey, Holland and Kesteven – and came into effect on 1 April 1889. Lincoln was made an independent [[county borough]] on the same date, with [[Grimsby]] following in 1891.<ref>{{Cite news |title=At Grimsby: The County Borough Celebrations |newspaper=[[Hull Daily Mail]] |date=8 April 1891 |page=4 |quote="From now until the end of the week Grimsby will be ''en fête'', celebrating its constitution as a county borough."}}</ref>

The [[Local Government Act 1972]] abolished the three county councils and the two county boroughs, effective 1 April 1974. On this date, Grimsby and the northern part of Lindsey (including [[Scunthorpe]]) were amalgamated with most of the [[East Riding of Yorkshire]] and a part of the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]] to form the new [[non-metropolitan county]] of [[Humberside]]. The rest of Lindsey, along with Holland, Kesteven and Lincoln, came under the governance of the new [[Lincolnshire County Council]].

A local government reform in 1996 abolished Humberside. The land south of the Humber Estuary was allocated to the [[unitary authorities]] of [[North Lincolnshire]] and [[North East Lincolnshire]] which became part of Lincolnshire for ceremonial purposes, such as the [[Lord-Lieutenant|Lord-Lieutenancy]], but are not covered by the Lincolnshire police; they are in the [[Yorkshire and the Humber]] region.
The remaining districts of Lincolnshire are [[Borough of Boston|Boston]], [[East Lindsey]], Lincoln, [[North Kesteven]], [[South Holland District|South Holland]], [[South Kesteven]], and [[West Lindsey]]. They are part of the [[East Midlands]] region.

[[North East Lincolnshire]] and [[North Lincolnshire]] are unitary authorities. They were districts of [[Humberside]] county from 1974.<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Local Government Reorganisation (Humberside) |url=http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199394/cmhansrd/1994-05-26/Debate-6.html |house=House of Commons |date=26 May 1994 |column_start=491 |column_end=498 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930033630/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199394/cmhansrd/1994-05-26/Debate-6.html |archive-date=30 September 2007 |access-date=10 April 2022}}</ref> In 1996, Humberside was abolished along with its county council.<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Humberside (Structural Change) Order 1995 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199495/ldhansrd/vo950306/text/50306-08.htm |house=House of Lords |date=6 March 1995 |column_start=74 |column_end=79 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410221153/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199495/ldhansrd/vo950306/text/50306-08.htm |archive-date=10 April 2022 |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref> Some services in those districts are shared with the [[East Riding of Yorkshire]] ceremonial county, rather than the rest of Lincolnshire including [[Humberside Police]], [[Humberside Airport]], [[Humberside Fire Service]], and [[BBC Radio Humberside]].

===Current governance===

Since the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]] and the [[Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom|constituency]] reorganisation by the [[2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies|2023 Periodic Review]], Lincolnshire is represented by ten [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] (MPs) whose constituencies fall entirely within the county. Small areas of Lincolnshire form constituencies with parts of neighbouring counties, namely the [[Isle of Axholme]] (part of [[Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (UK Parliament constituency)|Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme]]) and the town of [[Stamford, Lincolnshire|Stamford]] and its surroundings (part of [[Rutland and Stamford (UK Parliament constituency)|Rutland and Stamford]]). Of the ten constituencies entirely within Lincolnshire, six are represented by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], three by the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and one by [[Reform UK]].

[[Lincolnshire County Council]] is majority controlled by Reform UK and consists of forty-four Reform UK councillors, fourteen Conservative, five [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], three Labour, three [[Independent politician|independents]], and one [[Lincolnshire Independents|Lincolnshire Independent]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 May 2021 |title=Lincolnshire County Council: Conservatives win 54 out of 70 seats |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-57025291 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410221140/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-57025291 |url-status=live }}</ref> The county is made up of seven local borough and district councils and two unitary authority areas independent of the county council. The [[City of Lincoln Council]] is Labour-controlled. [[North Kesteven]], [[South Holland District|South Holland]] and [[East Lindsey]] are administered by the Conservatives. [[South Kesteven]] is controlled by a coalition of independent, Labour Party, Green Party and Liberal Democrat councillors. [[West Lindsey]] is controlled by a coalition of Liberal Democrats and independents. The [[Borough of Boston]] is controlled by the local Boston Independent party. The unitary authority [[North Lincolnshire Council|North Lincolnshire]] and [[North East Lincolnshire Council|North East Lincolnshire]] councils are administered by the Conservative Party.

A mayoral devolution deal has received approval from the [[Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government]]. This lead to the establishment of a [[Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority]], formed of the county council, the two unitary authorities and the district councils, with powers over housing, job creation and public transport, including [[bus franchising]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Harratt|first=Stuart|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8xepkjn841o|title=Devolution deals approved by the government|website=BBC News|access-date=19 September 2024}}</ref> The first election for the [[Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire]], who will chair GLCCA, took place in [[2025 Greater Lincolnshire mayoral election|May 2025]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://lincolnshiretoday.net/mag/together-again-devolution-deal-with-create-county-authority-for-lincolnshire/ | title=Together again: Devolution deal will create County Authority for Lincolnshire | date=19 September 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/devolution-deal-announced-greater-lincolnshire-9562635 |title=Devolution deal announced for Greater Lincolnshire - with Mayor elected in May |work=Grimsby Live |last=Poxton |first=Ian Morris |date=19 September 2024 |access-date=31 March 2025}}</ref> Reform UK [[Andrea Jenkyns]] was elected and Reform UK took control of [[Lincolnshire County Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-02 |title=Lincolnshire voters' views on why Reform swept to victory |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g2vq43pv2o |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

====Central Lincolnshire====
The Central Lincolnshire area is a joint partnership arrangement between [[North Kesteven]], [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]] and [[West Lindsey]], covering economic planning and development across the three districts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk/mgOutsideBodyDetails.aspx?ID=324 |title=Central Lincolnshire: Forward Plan|publisher=[[Lincolnshire County Council]] |access-date=27 February 2025 |date=10 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Central Lincolnshire |url=https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/central-lincolnshire/about-central-lincolnshire/ |publisher=Kesteven District Council |access-date=27 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Central Lincolnshire – creating a prosperous and desirable place to live|publisher=[[West Lindsey]] District Council |url=https://www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/council-news/2021/07/central-lincolnshire-creating-prosperous-desirable-place-live |date=23 July 2021 |access-date=27 February 2025}}</ref>

===Proposed local government reorganisation===
{{seealso| 2024–present structural changes to local government in England}}
Separate to the newly established [[Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority|devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire]] three separate proposals for the future governance of Lincolnshire were published in March 2025. Option One would see a single council for the area that currently makes up Lincolnshire County Council and a merger of the current two unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire in the north of the county to make a single council. Option Two would see Lincolnshire split into two separate unitary authorities on a north/south basis with North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, East and West Lindsey making up the northern council area whilst Lincoln, North and South Kesteven, Boston and South Holland making up the southern council area. Option Three would see Lincolnshire split up into three council areas, one covering Lincoln, West Lindsey, North Kesteven and South Kesteven, the second covering East Lindsey, Boston and South Holland and the third covering North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crmjxpygkxjo| title= Options for Lincolnshire councils shake-up revealed; BBC News | date=11 March 2025 }}</ref>