The leader of Preston City Council will set out his vision for the future of local government at a special event to be held at Lancaster University next week.

Matthew Brown will deliver the institution’s inaugural Local Government Lecture on Wednesday (11th February).

The Labour politician’s speech comes against the backdrop of the biggest local authority shake-up in Lancashire for more than 50 years.

All 15 main Lancashire councils are to be abolished and replaced with a handful of new ones, covering large swathes of the county, in 2028.

Preston and Lancaster city councils have both proposed that their areas merge with each other and neighbouring Ribble Valley to form a single authority for the entire area as part of a government-ordered overhaul designed to simplify the current ‘two tier’ structure in operation across most of Lancashire.

Ministers will make a final decision on the new-look local authority areas later this year.

Dr Martin Steven, the discipline lead for politics at Lancaster University’s School of Global Affairs said: “This spring, we have decided to hold a keynote lecture-style event where a prominent figure in local government is invited to outline their vision for their area.

“We are delighted that Cllr Brown has agreed to give the lecture and we look

forward to hearing his views on the future of the region - in particular, his pioneering

‘Preston Model’ for regional development.”

Cllr Brown told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “"I am delighted to be asked to give a lecture about the future of local government and how the opportunities of reorganisation can build fairer and more democratic local economies which work for everyone."

Since summer 2025, the university - which also has a Blackpool campus - has been piloting continuing professional development sessions for local authorities and has held a ‘question time’ event with councillors and a policy roundtable with local government managers.

The Local Government Lecture will take place between midday and 1.30pm in the Management School (LT15) on the main Lancaster University campus in the city.

The free event is open to all, but anyone wishing to attend should e-mail [email protected] to reserve their place.