Politics of Lincolnshire
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Lincolnshire is a ceremonial county in England, United Kingdom. The ceremonial county is a combination of the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire and two unitary authority areas in the north. The non-metropolitan county is governed by the Lincolnshire County Council, which is Reform and Conservative controlled, and further divided into seven district councils.[1]
Two further districts - North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire - are unitary authorities because they were previously districts of the controversial Humberside county from 1974.[2] In 1996, Humberside was abolished along with its county council.[3] However some services in those districts are still shared with the East Riding of Yorkshire ceremonial county, rather than the rest Lincolnshire.[4]
Lincolnshire is represented by 11 Members of Parliament (MPs). As of the 2019 general election, all 11 constituencies are represented by the Conservative Party.
UK Parliament
Lincolnshire is represented by 11 Members of Parliament (MPs). As of the 2019 general election, all 11 constituencies are represented by the Conservative Party.
| 2019 general election: Lincolnshire | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Labour | Liberal Democrat | Green | Others | Turnout | |
| 348,325 (66.0%)
| 120,808 (22.9%)
| 35,049 (6.6%)
| 10,564 (2.0%)
| 13,271 (2.5%)
| 528,006 9,266 | |
| Overall numbers of seats as of 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Labour | Liberal Democrat | Green | Others | |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Parliamentary constituencies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | District | MP | Party |
| Boston and Skegness | Boston, East Lindsey | Matt Warman | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole | North Lincolnshire (plus part in East Riding of Yorkshire) | Andrew Percy | Conservative |
| Cleethorpes | North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire | Martin Vickers | Conservative |
| Gainsborough | West Lindsey, East Lindsey | Edward Leigh | Conservative |
| Grantham and Stamford | South Kesteven | Gareth Davies | Conservative |
| Great Grimsby | North East Lincolnshire | Lia Nici | Conservative |
| Lincoln | Lincoln, North Kesteven | Karl McCartney | Conservative |
| Louth and Horncastle | East Lindsey | Victoria Atkins | Conservative |
| Scunthorpe | North Lincolnshire | Holly Mumby-Croft | Conservative |
| Sleaford and North Hykeham | North Kesteven, South Kesteven | Caroline Johnson | Conservative |
| South Holland and The Deepings | South Holland, South Kesteven | John Henry Hayes | Conservative |
Local government
Non-metropolitan county
The Conservatives control the county council, with 54 of the 70 seats. North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are unitary authorities and do not form part of the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire.
2009 County Council elections
The Conservative Party comfortably controlled the County Council after the 2009 local election, in which they increased their majority to 43 seats. The Labour Party lost a total of 15 seats including seven in Lincoln, whilst the Liberal Democrats lost three. The Lincolnshire Independents gained a total of four seats, although one of their number moved to the Conservative group during 2010, increasing the number of Conservative seats to 61. The collective group of the Lincolnshire Independents, the Boston Bypass Party and other independent councillors formed the opposition for the four-year term.
2013 County Council elections
In the 2013 County Council election, the Conservatives lost their overall majority and formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and independents. The UK Independence Party made significant gains from the Conservatives, particularly around the town of Boston, due to opposition to Eastern European immigration.[5]
UKIP were initially the main opposition party with 16 councillors, but six members broke away to form a separate group, UKIP Lincolnshire.[6]
2017 County Council elections
The 2017 Lincolnshire County Council election took place on 4 May 2017 and saw a local landslide victory for the Conservatives, who won 58 out of the 70 seats. UKIP was left without a single seat. Labour lost four seats, reducing their number of seats to six, the Liberal Democrats were reduced to one seat, and the Lincolnshire Independents were also reduced to a single seat after losing eight seats. Four other independents were elected.[7]
2021 County Council elections
The 2021 Lincolnshire County Council election took place on 6 May 2021. It saw another landslide victory for the Conservatives, with them winning 54 seats. Independents won five seats, Labour lost two, bringing their total down to four, and the Liberal Democrats gained two in West Lindsey, raising their total to three. The newly formed South Holland Independents won three seats, whilst the Lincolnshire Independents held their sole representative on the council.[8]
2025 County Council elections
In the 2025 Lincolnshire County Council election, Reform UK took control of Lincolnshire County Council.[9] The Reform UK candidate, the former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns, was elected Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.[10]
National referendums
1975 EC membership referendum
The 1975 EC membership referendum was the first major referendum to be held in the county, and saw one of the largest majority votes in favour of continued membership of the then European Communities (which would later become the European Union) within non-metropolitan Lincolnshire and also Humberside, which then included northern parts of historic Lincolnshire. The referendum was held on 5 June 1975 with votes within the county being centrally counted under the provisions of the Referendum Act 1975 where voters were asked to decide on the question “Do you think that the United Kingdom should stay in the European Community (the Common Market)?” by voting for either “Yes” or “No”. The result was declared on the following day.
| 1975 United Kingdom European Communities(Common Market) membership referendum Non-metropolitan Lincolnshire | |||
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 180,603 | 74.75% | |
| No | 61,011 | 25.25% | |
| Valid votes | 241,614 | 99.82% | |
| Invalid or blank votes | 445 | 0.18% | |
| Total votes | 242,059 | 100.00% | |
| Registered voters and turnout | 370,518 | 63.70% | |
| Yes: 180,603 (74.7%) | No: 61,011 (25.3%) | ||
| ▲ | |||
- The result above only includes non-Metropolitan Lincolnshire as parts of historic northern Lincolnshire made up part of Humberside at the time.
| County | Yes votes | No votes | Yes | No | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humberside | 257,826 | 122,199 | 67.8% | 32.2% | 62.4% |
2011 AV referendum
The 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum was the first to be held in Lincolnshire since the 1975 EC membership referendum and was only the second time that the people of Lincolnshire have been asked to vote in a referendum. The referendum asked voters whether to replace the present "first-past-the-post" (simple plurality) system with the "alternative vote" (AV) method for electing MPs to the House of Commons in future general elections. The proposal to introduce AV was overwhelmingly rejected by voters with all eight counting areas within Lincolnshire returning significant "no" votes.
| Yes: 76,570 (24.8%) | No: 232,034 (75.2%) | ||
| ▲ | |||
- The result above includes all areas within historic Lincolnshire
The seven shire-districts and two unitary authorities in Lincolnshire were used as the voting areas.
| Counting areas | Turnout % | No votes | Yes votes | No % | Yes % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 39.58 | 13,337 | 3,958 | 77.11 | 22.89 |
| East Lindsey | 42.60 | 34,045 | 10,571 | 76.31 | 23.69 |
| Lincoln | 36.68 | 16,099 | 6,951 | 69.84 | 30.16 |
| North East Lincolnshire | 34.23 | 29,484 | 9,549 | 75.54 | 24.46 |
| North Lincolnshire | 39.57 | 36,031 | 12,542 | 74.18 | 25.82 |
| North Kesteven | 42.95 | 27,397 | 7,926 | 77.56 | 22.44 |
| South Holland | 39.83 | 20,542 | 5,603 | 78.57 | 21.43 |
| South Kesteven | 42.63 | 32,217 | 11,247 | 74.12 | 25.88 |
| West Lindsey | 43.70 | 22,882 | 8,223 | 73.56 | 26.44 |
2016 EU membership referendum
On 23 June 2016, in the EU referendum, the people of Lincolnshire voted for the second time on the issue of the UK's continued membership of what is now known as the European Union under the provisions of the European Union Referendum Act 2015 where voters were asked to decide on the question “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union” by voting for either “Remain a member of the European Union” or “Leave the European Union”. Of the eleven MPs which represented the ceremonial county at the time six MPs Andrew Percy, Martin Vickers, Edward Leigh, Karl McCartney, Stephen Phillips and John Hayes supported a "Leave" vote with five MPs Matt Warman, Nick Boles, Victoria Atkins, Melanie Onn and Nic Dakin supported a "Remain" vote.[11]
| Leave:380,556 (66%) | Remain: 196,184 (34%) | ||
| ▲ | |||
- The result above includes all areas within historic Lincolnshire
The seven shire-districts and two unitary authorities in Lincolnshire were used as the voting areas.
| Voting areas | Turnout % | Remain votes | Leave votes | Remain % | Leave % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 77.2% | 7,430 | 22,974 | 24.4% | 75.6% |
| East Lindsey | 74.9% | 23,515 | 56,613 | 29.3% | 70.7% |
| Lincoln | 69.3% | 18,902 | 24,992 | 43.1% | 57.0% |
| North East Lincolnshire | 67.9% | 23,797 | 55,185 | 30.1% | 69.9% |
| North Lincolnshire | 71.9% | 29,947 | 58,915 | 33.7% | 66.3% |
| North Kesteven | 78.4% | 25,570 | 42,183 | 37.7% | 62.3% |
| South Holland | 75.3% | 13,074 | 36,423 | 26.4% | 73.6% |
| South Kesteven | 78.2% | 33,047 | 49,424 | 40.1% | 60.0% |
| West Lindsey | 74.5% | 20,906 | 33,847 | 38.2% | 61.8% |
Police and Crime Commissioners
The most recent elections for Police and Crime Commissioners within the Lincolnshire and Humberside police force areas took place on 2 May 2024.[12]
Lincolnshire Police
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Marc Jones | 39,639 | 36.5 | −23.2 | |
| Labour Co-op | Mike Horder | 31,931 | 29.5 | +9.5 | |
| Reform | Peter Escreet | 15,518 | 14.3 | +10.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Lesley Rollings | 13,380 | 12.4 | +6.4 | |
| English Democrat | David Dickason | 7,739 | 7.2 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 108,207 | 19.09 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Humberside Police
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jonathan Evison | 51,083 | 39.7 | −5.9 | |
| Labour Co-op | Simon O'Rourke | 46,846 | 36.4 | −3.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Bob Morgan | 30,834 | 24.0 | +8.9 | |
| Turnout | 128,769 | 18.7 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
References
- ^ Banks, Barnaby. "Council structure". Lincolnshire County Council. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 26 May 1993. col. 491. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
- ^ "Lords Hansard text". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. 6 March 1995. col. 68.
- ^ There is still a Humberside Police, a Humberside Airport, a Humberside Fire Service, Humberside Scouts and BBC Radio Humberside.
- ^ "Why did voters turn to Ukip in parts of true blue Lincolnshire?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "What's next for 'UKIP Lincolnshire' after name change debacle..." Lincolnshire Echo. 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Banks, Barnaby. "Elections". Lincolnshire County Council. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ Banks, Barnaby. "Elections results 2021". Lincolnshire County Council. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Lincolnshire voters' views on why Reform swept to victory". BBC News. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ "Greater Lincolnshire mayor: Reform UK's Andrea Jenkyns elected". BBC News. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ Norton, Emily (23 February 2016). "Majority of Lincolnshire MPs and East Midlands MEPs back Brexit". The Lincolnite. Stonebow Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- ^ "Choose My Police and Crime Commissioner - Information from the UK Government". Choose My Police and Crime Commissioner. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Notice of Election Result for the Police and Crime Commissioner 2024 Elections". City of Lincoln Council. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "PCC election results All Humberside Police areas". eastriding.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
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