Labour slammed in Commons as 29 councils ditch May elections, 3.7 million voters hit
Nearly half of councils delay polls until 2027 amid council shake-up
Labour has sparked outrage after revealing that 29 English councils will push back their local elections from May to 2027. Local Government Secretary Steve Reed confirmed nearly half of the 63 councils offered the choice chose to postpone votes. The delays back a government plan to switch to unitary authorities by 2028, meaning current councillors get a short-term extension.
Opposition lashes out at ‘unprecedented’ Labour election cancellations
Shadow Local Government Secretary Sir James Cleverly launched a savage attack, branding the postponements as “unprecedented cancellations.” He mocked Labour’s recent poll nosedive, asking, “What was it about the Labour Party’s collapse in opinion polls that first attracted him to cancelling local elections?”
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle piled on, accusing Reed of “putting pressure on councils” and hinting Labour’s dwindling support lies behind the delays. Meanwhile, Reform UK has launched a legal challenge against the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government over the postponements.
Row erupts over pressure on councils and broken promises
Sir James didn’t hold back, accusing Reed of bombarding councils with late-night letters pushing them to request election delays. He demanded, “He wants to cancel all these elections. So why does he not simply say so?”
The Tory also slammed the government for squeezing council budgets and breaking promises on reorganisation.
Government fights back: Reforms to ‘improve local government’
Reed fired back, insisting the terms of current councillors will briefly extend only until unitary council polls take place in 2027. He told MPs: “To those who say we’ve cancelled all the elections, we haven’t. To those who say it’s all Labour councils, it isn’t. I’ve asked, I’ve listened, and I’ve acted. No messing about, no playing politics, just getting on with the job of making local government work better for local people.”
