Over half of the English county councils with elections planned for this year may delay the events in order to explore options laid out in a major redesign of local government announced last December. At least 12 of the 21 councils due to hold elections in May are expected to request that ministers postpone the ballots. Urgent meetings are being held this week to decide whether to proceed. The government has set Friday as the deadline for areas to indicate interest in the first tranche of devolution plans.
If the elections are delayed, millions of voters would be “deprived of their local democracy”, according to the District Councils Network, which represents smaller local authorities. Scheduled mayoral elections will not be affected. Under the devolution plans announced in December by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, smaller district councils and larger county councils could merge to handle all services, a move seen as important in the government’s plan to devolve powers out of Westminster to local communities.
Councils that have expressed interest in the proposals and which could see their elections postponed include Devon, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, and Worcestershire. Councillor Kevin Bentley, the Conservative leader of Essex County Council, hailed the opportunity as a “once in a lifetime chance to improve outcomes for Essex”. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader of Surrey County Council, Councillor Tim Oliver, said that the council owed it to residents to get the best devolution deal possible.
Labour and the Tories both face their first electoral tests at the May elections since the former party took power at Westminster in July 2020. Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf criticised the potential delay, stating that Labour and the Tories were “colluding to rob the British people of their democratic rights”.
The current plans have provoked a backlash from some local leaders. Sam Chapman-Allen, chairman of the District Councils Network, claimed ministers had “rushed” proposals and were depriving residents of a say, sidelining democracy. In 2021, the previous Conservative government delayed local elections in North Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Somerset when councils were undergoing reorganisation
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