Local Elections at Risk? Councils Struggle to Prepare
After a dramatic U-turn, 30 councils face an election crunch ahead of May’s local elections, with £63m funding pledged to ease planning turmoil.
Local election administrators have warned that councils will face "difficulties" preparing for local elections in May after the government changed its plan to delay some votes.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed initially approved postponing 30 council elections in England until 2027.
But the government abandoned the plan to postpone the ballot after being told the move could be illegal. Reform UK subsequently launched a legal challenge.
A group representing electoral authorities in the UK said that teams helping to conduct the elections had lost months of preparation time and would face difficulties in preparing.
The government argued that some councils were concerned about the cost of holding elections for authorities that are to be abolished in a major reorganization of local government.
Local elections in Norfolk, Suffolk, Blackburn, Lincoln, Thurrock, and more than two dozen other parts of England will now be held on May 7, and approximately £63 million will be provided to local authorities making these changes.
Some organizers said they were preparing anyway, knowing that a legal challenge to the government's decision to postpone the vote in their areas was to be heard in the High Court on Thursday.
The Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) said they were "deeply disappointed" that months of "vital planning time" had been lost.
AEA Deputy Chief Executive Laura Lock said this would impact returning officers, electoral registration officers, and electoral administration teams.
She said, "These teams are now finding it very difficult to reach their locations."
The AEA represents and trains electoral officers across the UK.
Matthew Hicks, leader of Suffolk County Council, which is run by the Tory government, said: "Local councils across the country are experiencing immense turmoil as major government decisions are being changed repeatedly and without warning."
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Meanwhile, Lynn Worrall, leader of the Labour Party's Thurrock Council, said it was "disappointing that this decision was reversed so late."
The announcement on Monday was welcomed by opposition parties, who described the delay as undemocratic.
Celebrating his victory, Farage wrote on X: "We took this Labour government to court and won."
The government has agreed to pay Reform's legal costs associated with the action, which a party source said would be at least £100,000.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party had "fought tooth and nail to stop this plot and the government has been forced into a humiliating U-turn".
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was "a mess from a dysfunctional government that can't even make basic decisions".
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