The UK government has abandoned plans to delay 30 council elections in England.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said, “Following legal advice, the government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.”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,” the Spokesperson added.

Local Government Secretary, Steve Reed had approved delays for the ballots until 2027 to help deliver a major reorganisation which will see some local authorities abolished.

Reform UK had launched a legal challenge against the plans to delay May’s elections, which was due to be heard in the High Court on Thursday.

In a letter to council leaders, Reed said the government had written to the High Court to confirm he had decided to withdraw the original decision.

“The Secretary (of) state invited the housing minister, who was not involved in the initial decision-making, to reconsider the position afresh on a very urgent basis recognising the pressing timescales involved. The Housing Minister has decided that the elections should proceed in May 2026.”
Steve Reed

Reed said that he recognised that many of the councils undergoing reorganisation “voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under” as part of the reforms.

He added that the government would provide an extra £63m to the 21 areas affected.

The proposed reforms to local government would replace the two-tier system of district and county councils that exists in many parts of England with new unitary authorities responsible for delivering all councils services in their area.

There were originally 136 local elections across England that were scheduled for May. Of these, 63 were eligible to request a postponement due to local government reorganisation, and in January it was announced that 30 would be delayed.

Out of the councils that had originally been given permission to delay their elections, 15 were Labour-controlled, while four were led by the Conservatives, one by the Liberal Democrats and 10 were under no overall control.

The full list of councils where elections were due to be postponed but will now take place include Adur District Council, Basildon Borough Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council, Burnley Borough Council, Chase District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council, Chorley Borough Council, City of Lincoln Council, Crawley Borough Council, East Sussex County Council, Exeter City Council, Harlow District Council, Hastings Borough Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Norfolk County Council, Norwich City Council, Pendle Borough Council, Peterborough City Council, Preston City Council, Redditch Borough Council, Rugby Borough Council, Stevenage Borough Council, Suffolk County Council, Tamworth Borough Council, Thurrock Council, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, West Lancashire Borough Council, West Sussex County Council and Worthing Borough Council.

Government Move Welcomed

Reform and the Liberal Democrats, who had branded the delays undemocratic and an attempt to stop their parties making gains, welcomed the move.

Reform leader Nigel Farage wrote on X, “We took this Labour government to court and won. In collusion with the Tories, Keir Starmer tried to stop 4.6 million people voting on May 7th. Only Reform UK fights for democracy.”

The government has agreed to pay Reform’s legal costs relating to the proceedings, which a party source said would be at least £100,000.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party “fought tooth and nail to stop this stitch-up and the government has been forced into a humiliating U-turn.” He added, “We cannot allow the government to cancel elections on a whim ever again.”

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said that it was “predictable chaos from a useless government that cannot make basic decisions.”

She said that her party had opposed the “unnecessary cancellations at every opportunity,” writing on X, “This is the right decision.”