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Recent confirmation of delays to English local elections means around 250 councillors could end up serving extended terms of up to seven years. This extension results from a significant reorganisation of local government, which has led nearly 30 councils to postpone their scheduled elections this year. Some councils proactively requested these deferrals, while others provided governmental insight on capacity issues that facilitated the approval of delays.
In total, 29 areas have postponed elections, granting current councillors the opportunity to remain in office until the subsequent elections, anticipated to take place in 2028. Among these are four county councils—all led by Conservative parties—that last held elections in May 2021. Councillors in these county councils thus face potentially the longest extension, serving almost double the usual four-year term.
These largest councils encompass approximately 250 councillors affected by the extension, with Conservatives forming the majority at 154 seats. Labour has 24 councillors benefiting from the delay, while the Liberal Democrats hold 28 seats, the Greens 16, Reform 8, and an additional 20 councillors either represent independents or smaller groups. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has expressed her view that local elections should proceed as planned this May, criticizing Conservative councils requesting postponements as exceptions. She remarked, “I think that [elections] should go ahead, that is Conservative Party policy,” while acknowledging a one-year delay for reorganisation might be reasonable but emphasizing that a two-year delay is excessive.
Beyond the county councils, the remaining 25 councils postponing elections are district and borough councils, many of which held elections fairly recently, some as late as 2024. Out of 136 English councils that were eligible for postponement related to local government restructuring, elections are still expected to take place this year in 107 areas. The delays impact over 650 councillors, extending their terms longer than originally planned. Conservative councillors constitute the largest group benefiting from these postponements at 238, followed by Labour with 206, Liberal Democrats with 81, Greens with 39, Reform with 26, Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party with 7, and 59 councillors representing independents or smaller independent parties.
The Electoral Commission, responsible for overseeing UK elections, has criticized the widespread postponement, reiterating that elections should generally proceed as scheduled and only be delayed in exceptional cases. A spokeswoman stated, “Scheduled elections should, as a rule, go ahead as planned, and only be postponed in exceptional circumstances.” Despite this, the government maintains that the delays are necessary to facilitate transformative reforms aimed at ending the outdated two-tier system. Steve Reed, the minister for local government, emphasized that cutting through bureaucratic layers will enable quicker decisions on housing, easier access to services, and more funding directed toward community priorities like road repair, crime prevention, and care for the elderly. He concluded, “That’s what residents want and that’s what reorganisation will achieve.”
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