A leading Conservative has urged leader of the county council, Cllr Steve Jarvis, to "grow a pair" when dealing with the Government in advance of local government re-organisation.

Within weeks, the Government is expected to announce whether Hertfordshire's 11 existing councils will be replaced with two, three or four unitary authorities.

And in advance of the change, the county council has been asked by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for views on structural changes to support the transition.

But at a meeting of the council's cabinet on Wednesday (June 17), the leader of the Conservative group, Cllr Richard Roberts (Kings Langley), called for greater push-back against the government.

He highlighted speculation – based on plans for Essex to be split into five unitary authorities – that Hertfordshire was headed for a four-way split.

And he pointed to plans that earmarked the county for foundation strategic authority, rather than as a strategic mayoral authority, which would unlock greater financial investment.

He suggested that Hertfordshire people "should feel insulted by the lack of aspirational strategic intent".

And he asked why the Liberal Democrat administration was "fiddling" with "bureaucratic departmental detail " when Hertfordshire was "about to be put to the sword".

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After urging "chairman, you need to grow a pair", he highlighted the county's 1.2m population and £50bn GVA (gross value added) that "makes a difference to this country".

And he suggested the Government was "showing contempt" for the people, the place and the economy – and that it was necessary "to let the Government know that we are not happy".

He suggested that the expected changes would be a distance away from the mayoral devolution deal that had been hoped for.

And he said: "Devolution is the deal for Hertfordshire and the rest of the counties.

"Breaking up Hertfordshire and making smaller councils is not the deal. There is nothing in it for Hertfordshire.

"It will cost money. It will not yield better services. It will not look after the SEND, the roads, the highways, the children, the care for people.

"None of that will be improved by doing this. Only by the investment packages coming from a mayoral devolution deal which [was] the starting point, which has all gone. And that's why I find this contemptible.

"I would like you, if at all possible, to maintain or to, on the back of this meeting, write to the Government and just express your concern one more time about what you think about this process that Hertfordshire is being put through."

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In response, Cllr Jarvis (Liberal Democrat, Royston West and Rural) acknowledged that he was "not an enormous enthusiast" for the Government's reorganisation programme, with the real opportunity in "the area of devolution".

He said the Government had made it clear that being a foundation authority was a mandatory step on the path to devolution.

And he said the council's objective was to make sure they did not remain on that step any longer than was necessary.

He acknowledged that the council could opt not to engage with the Government, but suggested this would not lead to a better outcome for the people of Hertfordshire.

And he suggested that input would offer the opportunity to influence how the process should operate.

"I think that's an important part of ensuring that a process that I wouldn't have done, which is almost certainly going to happen regardless of my view, is done in the way that provides the best possible outcome for people in Hertfordshire."

And he later added: "My view is that we need to keep repeating to the Government that we want to see a mayoral authority for Hertfordshire, for the benefits that that will deliver.

"My estimation is that threatening the Government or telling them that we expect them not to deliver what we think is right is unlikely to improve our chances of getting their agreement to that.

"[…] I would sooner have a constructive discussion with the Government about why doing the right thing would benefit the people of Hertfordshire and actually benefit the people of the United Kingdom – in the expectation that they will see the merit of that and will agree to do it, rather than tell them that I think that they are going to fail us.

"So, I accept there is an alternative approach where you say to the government, 'we disagree with you completely', 'we are going to have nothing to do with you, do it to us if you will'.

"But I much prefer constructive engagement to try and achieve a better outcome for people in Hertfordshire.

"And I think in my view that is the approach that is most likely to achieve a better outcome. So that's what I have been doing and what I am going to continue doing."

Later in the meeting, the cabinet agreed to respond to the MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) with regard to the Structural Changes Order.