Half of county councils may seek to delay elections

The BBC can reveal that more than half of the county councils in England, where elections are to be held this year, may seek to postpone the votes.

Ministers may be asked to delay ballots to explore options set for at least 12 of the 21 county councils due to be elected in May. Major redesign of local government The announcement was made in December.

The government has set Friday as a deadline for sectors to show interest in the first tranche of devolution schemes.

But delaying the election would leave millions of voters “deprived of their local democracy”, according to the District Council Network, which represents smaller local authorities.

The government said that no decision has been taken.

Elections are to be held in 21 county council areas in England in May, as well as elections for some unitary authorities and some regional mayors.

When it announced its devolution plans in December, the government suggested that some of these elections, particularly those for county councils, might be delayed by a year or more. Scheduled mayor elections will not be affected.

Under plans announced by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Smaller district councils and larger county councils may be merged to form a single council to handle all services.

Ministers see the restructuring of local government as a key part of their plan to transfer powers from Westminster to local communities.

Local Government Minister Jim McMahon wrote to councils in the affected areas asking them to express their interest in participating.

A number of councils are holding urgent meetings this week to decide whether to proceed.

County councils that have indicated they are interested and may postpone the election include:

• devon
• East Sussex
• essex
• gloucestershire
• hampshire
• kent
• norfolk
• Suffolk
• Surrey
• warwickshire
• West Sussex
• Worcestershire

Ministers will take the final decision on whether local elections should be postponed or not.

Cllr Kevin Bentley, Conservative leader of Essex County Council, said it was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve outcomes for Essex”.

Cllr Tim Oliver, Conservative leader of Surrey County Council, said: “We are grateful to the residents of Surrey for getting the best possible devolution deal for our county.”

The elections in May will be the first electoral test for the Labor Party since the party took power at Westminster in July last year, and an important gauge of public mood.

Zia Yousaf, chairman of Reform UK, criticized potential delays, saying: “Labor and the Tories are so afraid of the rise of Reform that they are colluding to rob the British people of their democratic rights.”

Rayner told a select committee this week it would be “ridiculous” for councils to hold elections if they were planning to reorganize their structures.

But said the Government was not “dictating” what should happen in council areas.

The previous Conservative government delayed local elections in North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Somerset in 2021 while councils in those areas were undergoing reorganisation.

But some local leaders have raised objections to the current plans.

The District Council Network claimed that ministers had “rushed through” proposals to reorganize local government and were depriving residents of a say.

Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, chair of the organisation, said: “The cancellation of local elections comes after the Government neglected to mention in its general election manifesto that it was trying to take power away from communities by replacing district councils with mega councils. Is.

“Democracy is being sidelined and local voters are being deprived of any democratic opportunity to have their say on a major reorganisation, which will have far-reaching effects on the fate of thousands of English towns and villages.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “No decision has been taken on postponing the election.

“We will only consider postponing elections for areas where the relevant council has requested and where it helps to restructure and devolve a region in the most ambitious timescales.”