When Reform UK won control of Lancashire County Council in May 2025, West Lancashire was given a seat at the very top table. Cllr Simon Evans, who represents the Skelmersdale Central division, was appointed Deputy Leader of the council and Cabinet Member for Children and Families.
It is one of the most senior positions in Lancashire, and it means Skelmersdale is represented not on the fringes of the county but at the heart of its administration. The Children and Families brief covers some of the council’s most important work, from children’s social care to the support that families across Lancashire rely on.
For a town too often talked down, having its county councillor serve as Deputy Leader of Lancashire is a marker of how far Reform’s breakthrough in Skelmersdale has come.