Of course I welcome extra funding for Lincolnshire, which is our due anyway as historically we have been underfunded.
At the same time, I very much regret that the Government is insisting that we must have a mayor imposed on us just to get what is our due.
We will now have parish and town councils, district councils, the county council, the mayor, and ministers — all competing for funds and attention.
This is over-government. It is not clear what significant powers the mayor will have, although no doubt he will have a large salary and staff.
The extra funding, if it lasts, could be distributed much more efficiently by a joint board of the councils.
A mayor works fine for a big city but is not suited to a rural county like ours. The mayor idea is an obsession of London civil servants who know too little of rural Britain.
I urge members of the public to take part in the consultation.