Councils ‘race against time’ to organise elections in time for May after U-turn

Councils face a “race against time” to organise reinstated local elections, the body representing ballot organisers has said, as the head of one affected council claimed it raised significant questions over the Government’s wider devolution plans.

The deputy chief executive of the professional body for election administrators said returning officers and other election staff had lost “months” of planning for the elections that will now take place in 30 council areas on May 7.

The Government announced its latest policy U-turn on Monday, after telling dozens of councils they would not have ballots this year ahead of planned local government reorganisation.

Some £63 million will be made available to local authorities who are undergoing changes.

Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed said councils had voiced “genuine concerns” about delivering elections. Mr Reed has faced calls to resign after the reversal in policy, including from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Mr Farage’s party had brought a legal challenge, due to be heard on Thursday, which triggered the legal advice behind the Government’s U-turn.

The Conservative leader of Suffolk County Council said the decision brought into doubt how achievable wider plans to merge councils into single, unitary authorities would be.

Laura Lock, deputy chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, said: “We are extremely disappointed returning officers, electoral registration officers and electoral administration teams have lost months of essential planning time for reinstated May 7 elections.

“Local elections are highly complex – far more so than a general election, for instance. These teams now face an uphill struggle to catch up to where they should be. They have paused planning to avoid unnecessary cost, but this means they are now playing catch-up.”

She also said it would affect wider district councils, as they are the ones who run elections.

Matthew Hicks, leader of Tory-run Suffolk County Council said: “Throughout this process, ministers and civil servants have consistently expressed confidence in their position. That makes the current situation all the more surprising.

“Local councils across the country are experiencing whiplash as major Government decisions shift repeatedly and without warning. This uncertainty makes it almost impossible to plan effectively, deliver stability for residents, or provide clarity for our staff and partners.

“There is now a significant question mark over the Government’s wider agenda for devolution and local government reorganisation. Certainly, as we previously set out in our letter to ministers, this makes delivering one new unitary council for Suffolk more difficult, and three nigh-on impossible.”

Meanwhile, the leader of Labour-run Thurrock Council Lynn Worrall said it was “disappointing that this decision has been reversed so late in the day”.

Conservative councillor Richard Wright, chair of the District Councils’ Network, said: “Council officers, councillors and local electorates will be bewildered by the unrelenting changes to the electoral timetable.”

Mr Wright added: “The councils affected face an unnecessary race against time to ensure elections proceed smoothly and fairly, with polling stations booked and electoral staff available.”

The Government’s announcement came after legal advice in response to a judicial review in the high court by Reform UK.

The Government will cover Reform UK’s legal fees, Mr Farage told journalists, which he said would run to about £100,000.

“I recognise that many of the local councils undergoing reorganisation voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under as we seek to deliver the most ambitious reforms of local government in a generation,” Mr Reed said.

However, following the U-turn, Mr Farage told a party rally in Romford, north-east London on Monday night that Mr Reed should stand down.

He said: “I think if a minister tried to deprive nearly five million people of a vote, that he’s acted illegally, I think Steve Reed should resign.”

City councils in Lincoln, Exeter, Norwich, Peterborough and Preston had been among those where ballots were not to take place on May 7, alongside several districts such as Cannock Chase, Harlow, Welwyn Hatfield and West Lancashire.

Polling day had also been postponed for county council voters in East Sussex, West Sussex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described the reversal as “predictable chaos from a useless Government that cannot make basic decisions”.

The Conservatives have written to Mr Reed calling on him to share the evidence base on which the original decision to delay the elections was made, and whether “party political considerations” lay behind it.

The decision was also welcomed by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, and Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

An MHCLG spokesperson 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.”