The UK government has cancelled plans to postpone 30 local council elections later this year, saying they will proceed as previously scheduled for the 7th May.
The reversal followed legal action by Reform UK, who argued the delay was unlawful and was not about with the planned reorganisation of councils, but Labour running scared of the electorate.
The now abandoned plan would have impacted councils undergoing reorganisation in Norfolk, Suffolk, Blackburn, Lincoln, and Thurrock and elsewhere, with the election shifted to May 2027.
The climb down was made by Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, who only a month ago, had announced the original postponement.
Reform UK initiated the judicial review proceedings against the postponement, claiming it violated democratic principles and electoral law. But on the eve of the case going before judges, Government lawyers allegedly changed their position and indicated they were unlikely to win the case.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed the reversal, saying: “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.
It has also been reported that the Government has agreed to pay Reform UK’s legal costs, estimated to be in excess of £100,000.
A gleeful Nigel Farage declared the U-turn a Reform UK success. “Labour tried to cancel democracy and we stopped them.” The party is expected to make significant electoral gains in the 30 affected councils.
The Liberal Democrats described the U-turn as a “Humiliating U-Turn”. Ed Davey characterised the reversal as government incompetence.
The Lib Dem leader said the decision demonstrated poor planning and weak leadership. “This humiliating U-turn shows a government that doesn’t know what it’s doing.” It has also been reported that they will use a “Humble Address” to pressure the Government into releasing the legal advice connected with both the original decision and subsequent U-turn.
Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch described the situation as yet more “predictable chaos from a useless Government.” She cited the U-turn as evidence of Labour’s inability to make a decision and stick to it.
The Green Party Leader, Zack Polanski said he was “pleased the Government has done another U-turn”, condemning the attempt to delay the elections impacting 4.5 million voters as, “part of a disturbing authoritarian trend of this caretaker Prime Minister”.
The decision was also met with anger by some Labour MPs who see the U-turn as evidence that the Government is still failing to get even basic decisions correct.
While the Association of Electoral Administrators issued warnings about the difficulties in reorganising the elections with just a few months to go.
In particular, they highlighted problems with securing polling stations, recruiting and training staff, updating electoral registers and ballot paper printing as a challenge due to the U-turn.
The AEA described the situation as an “uphill struggle.” Council officials must compress twelve months of preparation into ten weeks a spokesperson said.
Councils have also complained about the costs of preparing the postponement, only for the original May date to be reinstated. One electoral administrator stated: “We’ve now had to plan, unplan, and replan. Every change costs money and staff time.”
But the Government claim that they are already giving £63 million to affected councils. The funding supports simultaneous election administration and local government reorganisation, building on the £7.6 million it had previously provided.
The Government also stressed that local government reorganisation will continue despite the change in policy on elections.
The plan will see councils merge into unitary authorities, breaking up large County Councils and scrapping smaller borough councils. The Government believe the reorganisation will deliver more accountable and efficient councils, which are able to deliver better services.
The 30 affected councils by the change in policy are: Adur District Council, Basildon Borough Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council, Burnley Borough Council, Cannock Chase District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council, Chorley Borough Council, City of Lincoln Council, Crawley Borough Council, East Sussex County Council, Exeter City Council, Harlow District Council, Hastings Borough Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Norfolk County Council, Norwich City Council, Pendle Borough Council, Peterborough City Council, Preston City Council, Redditch Borough Council, Rugby Borough Council, Stevenage Borough Council, Suffolk County Council, Tamworth Borough Council, Thurrock Council, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, West Lancashire Borough Council, West Sussex County Council and Worthing Borough Council.
Additional councils affected by the reorganisation had decided to continue with elections and so will be unaffected by the announcement. This means elections will now take place in 136 local authority areas alongside elections to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.