PENDLE'S Liberal Democrats have called on a special council meeting on Friday to reject plans for a Lancashire-wide combined authority with an elected Mayor.

They will ask the borough to veto the scheme which they describe as 'dangerous, costly and undemocratic'.

Its LibDem group leader Cllr David Whipp said: “Residents risk losing control of local issues as Conservative and Labour leaders throughout the county stitch up a deal to centralise power in Lancashire and impose an elected Mayor.

“The government have made it clear that if it goes ahead, councils like Pendle will be abolished and replaced by sprawling 'Unitary Authorities'. It is bizarre people are talking about shuffling the deckchairs when the country is facing the biggest peacetime crisis in centuries. This must be stopped.”

Pendle Council's Labour leader Cllr Mohammed Iqbal said: "To simply reject everything our of hand is not advisable. We should take a watching brief and see what carrot the government offers to councils like ours."