Government Abandons Postponement of May Council Elections After Legal Challenge
The Government has executed a significant U-turn, abandoning its controversial plans to postpone elections across 30 councils scheduled for this May. This reversal comes directly in response to a legal challenge mounted by Reform UK and subsequent advice from government lawyers. Local Government Secretary Steve Reed had initially approved proposals to delay the polls, aiming to facilitate a major reorganisation of local authorities, but has now withdrawn that decision.
Legal Pressure Forces Reversal
In a letter dispatched to council leaders on Monday, Cabinet minister Steve Reed confirmed the Government had written to the High Court to formally withdraw the postponement decision, explicitly citing "recent legal advice" as the catalyst. The Government has also agreed to cover Reform UK's legal costs following the party's successful challenge to the initial postponement. A court order published in January revealed Reform was seeking an interim order to block the Government from altering the election date pending a full hearing, which had been set for later this week.
Financial Support and Ministerial Statements
Alongside the reversal, Mr Reed announced that some £63 million will be made available to local authorities undergoing the structural changes associated with the reorganisation. "I recognise that many of the local councils undergoing reorganisation voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under as we seek to deliver the most ambitious reforms of local government in a generation," Mr Reed stated. He added that officials would contact affected councils to assess if further practical support is necessary.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) emphasised that "providing certainty to councils about their local elections is now the most crucial thing." An MHCLG spokesperson later confirmed: "Following legal advice, the Government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.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."
Affected Councils and Political Reactions
The postponed elections would have impacted a significant number of authorities, including city councils in Lincoln, Exeter, Norwich, Peterborough, and Preston. Several districts such as Cannock Chase, Harlow, Welwyn Hatfield, and West Lancashire were also affected, alongside county council voters in East Sussex, West Sussex, Norfolk, and Suffolk.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage hailed the reversal as a victory for his party and "democracy in this country," suggesting that Steve Reed should resign for having "clearly acted illegally." Farage argued, "It seems to me that if a Government minister does something illegal, they really ought to resign."
Opposition parties were swift to condemn the Government's handling of the situation. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described the episode as "predictable chaos from a useless Government that cannot make basic decisions." The Conservatives have formally written to Mr Reed demanding he share the evidence base for the original delay and clarify whether "party political considerations" influenced the decision.
Shadow local government secretary Sir James Cleverly called on Mr Reed to stand down if he was "unable or unwilling" to answer "serious questions about your personal propriety as a minister." Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey stated the Government had been "forced into a humiliating U-turn" and should be stripped of its power to "cancel elections on a whim," noting his party has tabled an amendment to change the law accordingly. Green Party leader Zack Polanski expressed pleasure at the U-turn, describing the original postponement move as part of "a disturbing authoritarian trend from this caretaker Prime Minister."
