New Year Message

Wishing you good health and happiness through 2021.

It has been a complicated year. While dealing with covid, this Government opened several other cans of worms that  overflowed their time schedules; the “oven-ready” brexit deal that wasn’t, local government reorganisation, centralisation of planning decisions, funding gaps and still no security of long-term funding for adult care, but instead a restructuring of the local governance.  That’s of their own making.  As covid cuts through our communities, we must focus on getting that right locally, while the big challenge of climate change remains.

The great news is about the vaccines being rolled out as fast as they can.  Let’s hope they do the trick! The good news is that the first EU trade arrangements mean no tarriffs on goods crossing the borders, though 80% of the trade is in services, yet to be decided. The disappointing news was that we still have EU ships fishing our waters, taking only 25% less after 5 years, assuming that can be properly policed. The bad news is that the new EU border checks are between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Most heartening is the discovery that it is possible to be even prouder of our communities, as they have pulled out all the stops to assist and support neighbours, bringing tears of joy to some who have suddenly found themselves in need through no fault of their own!

This has been a testing year for councils, but we can see our councillors and councils form the glue that holds our streets, neighbourhoods and communities together when the going got tougher than we could have imagined. I hope you have been able to have some time off to recharge and spend time with those you love.

Thank you for your important support over the past year. Working together, we have done a very effective job, listening to residents, looking at the facts and focussing on the best outcomes for residents. We bring an important perspective that is rooted in our communities. Thank you also for everything you have done to keep services running, keeping children and adults safe and supported through an extraordinary time. Thank you also to all of your teams and partner organisations for their continued solid hard work.

Best wishes to you and yours,

Kind Regards from the Lincolnshire Independents