More than a third of local authorities in England have asked to postpone their elections in May, saying they can’t deliver them effectively during changes to local government, according to administrators.
These requests have caused unrest and criticism in some councils. Police were called to a council meeting in Redditch this week after insults were exchanged and the public protested the delay, calling it “arrogant.”
Sixty-three council areas could postpone elections until 2027, as some were already delayed to May 2026. This is happening as two-tier authorities are combining into single unitary councils.
Data from the Association of Electoral Administrators shows that 27 of the 63 eligible councils – over a third – have asked to delay district or county council votes this year. Others are still deciding before the thursday deadline.
Ministers are expected to approve the requests soon. Among those asking for a postponement are the county councils of East sussex, West Sussex, and Suffolk, and the city councils of Exeter, Preston, and Peterborough. Smaller councils like Cheltenham, Hastings, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Ipswich, and Redditch borough councils have also requested delays.
the government’s reorganization of local government aims to replace the current two-tier system with unitary councils, which will handle all council services. Officials say this will make services like social care more efficient. The changes will also introduce six new elected mayors in Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Essex, Hampshire and Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton.
The delay means some councillors could stay in their roles for over a year longer, with nearly 600 councillors – including about 200 Labor councillors – unlikely to face re-election.
Critics say the delay harms the democratic process. However, local government secretary Steve Reed said the public would support canceling “pointless” elections for “zombie” councils.
Writing in the Times, Reed explained that local elections are “time consuming and will take scarce resources away from frontline services like fixing potholes and social care.” The government calls the changes a “once-in-a-generation reorganization that will transform democratic accountability.”
Four elections for new mayors have already been postponed. Mayoralties in Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent, and Sussex and Brighton will now be contested in 2028.
Last month, the minister for local government reorganization, Alison McGovern, told Parliament that councils had said they lacked the capacity to manage the changes within the current timeframe. The government will allow delays if there are “genuine concerns” about delivering the elections.
Most of the councils seeking a delay are Labour-led, with three Conservative-led, one Liberal Democrat, and the rest run by multiple parties or independents, according to the BBC.
This week, police were called to a heated meeting at Redditch borough council. A Labour councillor apologized for calling a member of the public a Nazi after being called a “scumbag.” Around 50 protesters attended, heckling the vote to postpone the election with shouts of “shame on you” and “this is no democracy,” the BBC reported.
