A focus on climate change will no longer be amongst the responsibilities of any of Lancashire County Council’s cabinet after the new Reform administration took control of the authority.
New leader Stephen Atkinson – who was officially installed on Thursday – has revealed the nine Reform councillors who will sit around the cabinet table with him at County Hall.
The majority of the portfolio titles have remained unaltered – with members appointed who will have responsibility for major service areas including adult social care, children and families, and highways and transport.
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However, the post for environment and climate change – introduced by the previous Conservative administration – has been axed.
The holder of the role had overseen a raft of initiatives, including tree-planting and electric vehicle charging point installation. The authority even staged its own climate summit back in 2022.
Under the new Reform group, climate change has disappeared from the cabinet briefs, while “environment” is now incorporated within a new portfolio for rural affairs, environment and communities.
Green Party group leader Gina Dowding told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) she found it “worrying that Reform UK think climate change is suddenly not important enough to warrant attention”.
“The majority of people recognise we need action. Things like energy security from renewables, better insulated homes, and resilience to flooding are vital to the wellbeing of Lancashire communities,” added County Cllr Dowding, who is also now deputy leader of the Progressive Lancashire official opposition group at County Hall, made up of Greens and independents.
Reform’s national leader, Nigel Farage, has condemned local authorities for concerning themselves with climate change – and said any staff working on the subject at any of the 10 county councils Reform now controls nationwide should start looking for alternative employment.
County Cllr Atkinson said of the scrapping of the climate change role at County Hall: “We have both a cabinet member and lead member responsible for the portfolio of rural affairs, environment and communities.
“This shows how seriously we take these issues, which we know really matter to our residents.
“For all of our cabinet members, their exact roles and responsibilities will be established in due course.”
Elsewhere, the authority’s the county council’s cabinet also now includes a role focused on IT and data.
However, the absence of women from the line-up at the top table has attracted criticism from Labour opposition member Samara Barnes.
Nine of the Reform group are women, but none has made it to cabinet, nor to the group of ‘lead members’ who assist the cabinet portfolio-holders.
“Look at our diverse new cabinet at Lancashire County Council – 10 white men!” County Clr Barnes posted on X.
“Where is the representation of our diverse county?”
Speaking to the LDRS after he was installed as leader on Thursday, County Cllr Atkinson said the cabinet posts had been decided by a process of “blindly” assessing his group’s experience and allocating roles, without initially knowing the identities of any of the individuals.
“I’m sure, as we get to know people in the group, that we can revisit [the cabinet positions] if we’ve got opportunities – but we are absolutely clear we want the best people to do the job,” he said.
He also told the county council’s annual general meeting that Reform boasted elected members “with diverse skills, experience and knowledge”.
“I’m really excited about what we can achieve together.”
Meet the cabinet
The full cabinet line-up – with biographies issued by the county council and further background from the LDRS – is:
Leader – County Cllr Stephen Atkinson
Former Conservative leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council (2019-2025). Started his first business venture with his brother at the age of 21 and, together, they now run a Lancashire-based educational furniture business as well as investing in commercial and industrial properties in the area.
Deputy leader and cabinet member for children and families – County Cllr Simon Evans
Worked in children’s services in a range of areas including early years, management of adolescence services and has led on anti-social behaviour and community justice for more than 30 years, delivering innovative solutions that make lives and communities better.
Cabinet member for resources, HR and property – County Cllr Ged Mirfin
Previously a Conservative county councillor from 2021 onwards, before defecting to Reform in March. Also formerly a Ribble Valley borough councillor. Served as a scrutiny chair at County Hall, focussing on building use, asset disposal, staffing, data and IT systems, change management, procurement and partnership working. He is also a published academic who has taught at three universities.
Cabinet member for adult social care – Graham Dalton
Highly experienced care service manager with a deep knowledge of complex care settings and understanding of how the NHS functions. He is experienced in managing care in the community.
Cabinet member for highways and transport – County Cllr Warren Goldsworthy
Experience of working in the automotive industry, where he was a regional manager for the AA, responsible for managing large numbers of staff and coaching and mentoring the managers who reported to him. More recently he has also worked in a special educational needs school.
Cabinet member for education and skills – County CllrMatthew Salter
Previously a Conservative county councillor from 2018 onwards, defecting to Reform in March. A former academic, who served on the education, children’s, families and skills scrutiny committee at County Hall. A deep knowledge of the structure of and how the county council functions.
Cabinet member for health and wellbeing – County Cllr Daniel Matchett
A mental health nurse with over 20 years’ experience in caring for individuals with mental health problems. He has worked for Blackpool Hospital in the A&E department and for the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.
Cabinet member for economic development and growth – County Cllr Brian Moore
Has been a board director of the Prince’s Trust and has deep knowledge and experience of the business support community, training, business finance and graduate placement. He has run a number of business hubs assisting in the delivery of economic development projects.
Cabinet member for rural affairs, environment and communities – County Cllr Joshua Roberts
A director of a website design and development company, specialising in digital and social media functionality, search engine optimisation and online branding. He is a specialist in political communications and press relations.
Cabinet member for data, technology, customer and efficiency – County Cllr David Dwyer
A deep knowledge of IT systems and infrastructure, especially data platforms. He is a specialist in cyber security and blockchain technology.
Lead members
Finance and resources – County Cllr Tom Pickup
Health – County Cllr Lorenzo More
Highways and Transport – County Cllr John Clemson
Rural affairs, environment and communities – County Cllr Martin Topp
Economic development – County Cllr Martyn Sutton
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