Labour faces fury over plans to delay local elections in areas where voters are deserting Keir Starmer
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CP
Labour is under fire after it emerged that more than 20 Labour run councils are moving to delay local elections in areas where the party is struggling in the polls and where Reform UK and the Conservatives are expected to make strong gains.
A review of council responses shows Labour has already agreed to postpone elections in five areas due to vote this May and is weighing up delays in another 17. Just four Labour authorities have ruled out cancelling or postponing the polls altogether.
The pattern stands in stark contrast to other parties. Only two Conservative councils and one Liberal Democrat authority have indicated they want a delay, while the majority of non Labour councils have either rejected the idea or confirmed they will proceed with elections as scheduled.
The controversy comes as Reform UK continues to surge across large parts of England, particularly in the North and Midlands, placing Labour at risk of significant losses only months after Keir Starmer entered Downing Street.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed last month offered 63 councils the option to delay elections until 2027, citing the need to focus on major local government reorganisation. Ministers plan to scrap district councils and fold their functions into larger unitary authorities.
However critics say Labour councils appear far more enthusiastic about cancelling elections in precisely those areas where voters are turning away from them.
Labour run councils in Hyndburn, Chorley, Preston and Blackburn with Darwen have all confirmed they have requested a delay. Polling suggests Reform UK is performing strongly in each of these areas.
In Hyndburn, Reform is polling at 39 per cent while Labour has slumped to just 16 per cent, placing it third. In Preston, Reform is on 30 per cent compared with Labour’s 24 per cent. In Blackburn, Labour is reportedly running fourth behind an independent candidate, the Greens and Reform.
Four of the confirmed Labour delays are in northern England, where recent polling shows Reform ahead on 29 per cent compared with Labour’s 25 per cent.
Labour councillors in Exeter are also considering postponing elections, claiming it would save money and allow officers to focus on reorganisation, with a final decision expected shortly.
In a further 17 Labour controlled areas, councils have refused to rule out delays and say they will decide by the Government’s January 15 deadline. In Nuneaton and Bedworth, where Labour runs a minority administration, Labour is pushing for a delay while the Conservatives are opposed.
Nigel Farage accused Labour of trying to dodge voters.
“This is the kind of outrageous behaviour you expect from a banana republic,” he said. “Labour is damaging our democracy.”
Campaigner and former Conservative councillor Emma Marshall, who is organising a rally against the proposed cancellation of elections in Redditch, said there was no justification for postponement.
“Cancelling elections is serious business and should only ever happen in truly exceptional circumstances,” she said. “At this stage, it hasn’t even been confirmed that Redditch will be included in the next tranche of Local Government Reorganisation, so there is no justification for postponing the vote.
“Redditch is also in a unique position compared to many other councils: we elect in thirds, meaning elections take place every year and the costs are already built into the budget. Holding these elections now, and potentially a unitary election in 2027, if required, does not create any additional cost to the public.
“It increasingly feels as though some councils are seeking to cancel elections simply because they find them inconvenient. But democracy is never inconvenient.”
Sir James Cleverly, the shadow communities secretary, accused Labour of running scared.
“Labour are denying democracy because they know they are in for a pasting at the ballot box,” he said. “Local democracy should not be cancelled for a second year in a row, with councillors serving seven year terms and residents denied their right to vote yet again.”
Under the Government’s plans, elections scheduled for May 2026 could be scrapped entirely, with new unitary authority elections held in May 2027. Councillors elected in 2021 would remain in office until 2028, stretching their terms from four years to seven.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government dismissed concerns, insisting councils were best placed to judge whether a delay was appropriate and pointing to previous reorganisations where elections were postponed.
But with Labour councils overwhelmingly leading the charge to halt elections, critics warn that public confidence in democracy is being eroded at a time when trust in politics is already at rock bottom.
This article (Labour faces fury over plans to delay local elections in areas where voters are deserting Keir Starmer) was created and published by Conservative Post and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author CP
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