The UK government has abandoned plans to delay 30 council elections in England, following advice that the move could be unlawful.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed had approved delays for the ballots until 2027, citing concerns from some councils about the cost of running elections for authorities due to be abolished in a major reorganisation of local government. According to Reed, many of the councils undergoing reorganisation had voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under as part of the reforms.
The decision to abandon the plans was welcomed by opposition parties, who had branded the delays undemocratic. Reform UK had launched a legal challenge against the plans, which was due to be heard in the High Court. The government has agreed to pay Reform's legal costs relating to the proceedings, which a party source said would be at least £100,000.
Response from Opposition Parties
Reform leader Nigel Farage said: "We took this Labour government to court and won." He also claimed that the decision to approve the election delays was "clearly unlawful" and that if a government minister does something illegal, they really ought to resign. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party "fought tooth and nail to stop this stitch-up and the government has been forced into a humiliating U-turn".
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was "predictable chaos from a useless government that cannot make basic decisions". She added that her party had opposed the "unnecessary cancellations at every opportunity". The Conservatives have written to Reed asking him to publish the evidence base on which the original decision to cancel elections was made.
Government Statement
In a letter to council leaders, Reed said the government had written to the High Court to confirm he had decided to withdraw the original decision. The statement said: "The secretary (of) state invited the housing minister, who was not involved in the initial decision-making, to reconsider the position afresh on a very urgent basis recognising the pressing timescales involved."
The housing minister has decided that the elections should proceed in May 2026. Reed said the government would provide an extra £63m to the 21 areas affected by the reforms. The proposed reforms to local government would replace the two-tier system of district and county councils that exists in many parts of England with new unitary authorities responsible for delivering all council services in their area.
Council Elections to Proceed
There were originally 136 local elections across England that were scheduled for May. Of these, 63 were eligible to request a postponement due to local government reorganisation, and in January it was announced that 30 would be delayed. Polls in five of these areas had already been delayed from May 2025. The government had previously said some councils were concerned about their capacity to run the polls in May alongside the overhaul of town halls, as well as the cost to taxpayers of holding elections for councils that are due to be abolished.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "Following legal advice, the government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May." Providing certainty to councils about their local elections is now the most crucial thing and all local elections will now go ahead in May 2026.
