The government has abandoned plans to postpone 30 local elections in May following legal advice.
Labour announced in December it was planning to cancel elections in 30 areas – affecting more than 4.5 million people – to overhaul English council structures.
But on Monday, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it was no longer going ahead with the plan due to “new legal advice”.
Politics latest: Which councils are affected?
Reform UK had launched a legal challenge against the government, and the legal advice was in reaction to that case.
A letter from the government’s legal department to MHCLG, seen by Sky News, said the government will pay Reform’s legal costs.
Sky News understands the legal costs are in six figures.
An MHCLG spokesman said: “Following legal advice, the government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.
“Providing certainty to councils about their local elections is now the most crucial thing and all local elections will now go ahead in May 2026.”
Nigel Farage’s Reform had brought a legal case against the government, which was due to be heard this week. Pic: PA
The department has written to all 30 councils to confirm elections will go ahead in May.
There will also be a £63m fund to help local councils across those areas reorganise their structures, with “practical support” also on offer.
Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage told broadcasters that the government had “caved”.
“It’s a victory for Reform. But more importantly, it’s a victory for democracy in this country. We are delighted,” he said.
He added that the government had U-turned because they would have lost in court – and suggested Local Government Secretary Steve Reed’s job should be at risk.
U-turn number 15
This is now the 15th U-turn by Sir Keir’s government since coming to power in July 2024.
Less than two hours before the announcement, the prime minister was asked by the BBC if he would “stick to your course now after those U-turns”.
He responded: “Absolutely. I know exactly why I was elected in with a five-year mandate to change this country for the better, and that’s what I intend to do.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the U-turn “predictable chaos from a useless government that cannot make basic decisions”.
Most of the councils that had chosen to postpone, after being invited to by the government in December, were Labour – and Ms Badenoch called the few Conservative-run authorities to choose postponement “silly”.
She said Mr Reed now has “very serious questions to answer on whether political considerations were behind his decision” – and she threatened to use “every means at our disposal to get to the truth” if he does not.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said they “cannot allow the government to cancel elections on a whim ever again”, and said his party wanted to change the law to strip ministers of that power.
Kemi Badenoch asked if the decision to postpone was political
Councils and voters ‘bewildered’
Campaigners expressed relief at this latest U-turn but also exasperation over how little time councils now have to put on elections in less than three months.
Elliot Keck, campaigns director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be hugely relieved to see their right to a vote restored, but it should have never come this far.
“Millions of voters were not just facing cancelled elections, but also the double injustice of increased council tax despite a complete lack of a democratic mandate.
“Ministers should still bring in new guidelines making clear that were any elections to be cancelled in future, for any reason, there would be a mandatory freeze on council tax and any other charges.”
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The District Councils’ Network, which represents 169 English councils, said councils and voters “will be bewildered by the unrelenting changes to the electoral timetable”.
Richard Wright, chair of the DCN, added: “Councils were assured by the government that elections could be legally cancelled but now it seems ministers have come to the opposite conclusion.
“The councils affected face an unnecessary race against time to ensure elections proceed smoothly and fairly, with polling stations booked and electoral staff available.”
