Millions of people to see their local council elections delayed
More than a third of councils in England due to hold elections this May have asked the government to postpone them for a year. So far, 23 local authorities have requested the delay, which would affect around 5 million voters.
The government recently offered 63 councils the chance to push their elections back to 2027 to help with a major shake-up of local government. This plan aims to replace the current system of district and county councils with new "unitary" authorities that handle everything. Ministers argue that holding elections now for "zombie councils" that will soon be scrapped is a waste of time and taxpayers' money.
While most of the councils asking for a delay are led by Labour, the list also includes two Conservative-led councils and one run by the Liberal Democrats. However, opposition parties have reacted with anger. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats accused Labour of being "terrified" of the voters and "running scared" because of poor results in recent opinion polls.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has been particularly critical, suggesting that letting ministers cancel elections "at the stroke of a pen" could breach human rights. He warned that some councillors could end up serving for seven years without being re-elected.
The decision has also caused tension locally. In Redditch, police had to be called to a council meeting where protesters gathered to voice their anger over the proposed delay. Despite the backlash, ministers are expected to formally approve the requests in the coming days.
