Greater Lincolnshire Mayor defends hiring chief executive on £130,000
Mayor faces criticism over high salary for new top job at Combined County Authority
The Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire has hit back at criticism over plans to hire a chief executive for the county’s new combined authority on a salary of at least one hundred and thirty thousand pounds a year.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who heads up the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority, says a team is needed to deliver on big issues like transport.
She said, “I promised to lead with a sword of common sense and cut waste, and I am doing just that.
I want to cut through some of the lies and propaganda being put out by the Conservatives and left wing activists.”
The new chief executive will earn one hundred and thirty thousand pounds a year, with a possible ten thousand pound bonus if key targets are met.
Dame Andrea insisted the role is essential, saying, “We are currently recruiting, we need to recruit the four main positions that are legally bound for a combined authority and local government to operate."
But a spokesperson for the Lincolnshire Conservatives said:
“Reform UK campaigned on shaking up politics and doing things differently. Yet the first visible actions of the Reform mayoralty are to build a large senior management structure, introduce performance bonuses, and double the Mayor’s office budget, all before residents can point to a single improvement delivered. There is a clear contradiction.”
They went on to accuse Dame Andrea of “aggressively inflating bureaucracy and ballooning political office spending, even as the supposed benefits of devolution remain nowhere to be seen for residents.”
Dame Andrea labelled the Conservative criticism as “astonishing and desperate”, insisting the authority needs a full team to deliver for Greater Lincolnshire.
She added, “How can a mayor operate without the basic roles that MPs have, such as admin, and caseworkers to help with constituents needing support? Hence why this was added into the budget."