Electoral Commission Warns Against Postponing England's Council Elections Amid Reorganisation
The Electoral Commission has warned that delaying England's council elections could damage public confidence, stating that capacity constraints are not legitimate grounds for postponement. Ministers have said they would allow the postponement of the May 2025 polls to 2027 if requested by councils; this affects 63 councils undergoing local government reorganisation.
Authorities were given a 15 January deadline to respond, with decisions described as locally led, as councils are seen as best placed to judge the impact of delays. East Sussex and West Sussex councils have requested election delays, whereas Essex and Hampshire have said they will proceed as scheduled.
Nine areas with May 2025 elections have already had their polls postponed once before; a further delay could extend councillors' terms to seven years. A local government shake-up planned for 2028 aims to abolish the two-tier system, with new authorities taking over all local services.
This situation follows precedents of postponements during reorganisations in 2019 and 2022, with a locally led approach employed on those occasions. Politically, among the affected councils, Labour holds 18 seats, Conservatives 9, and Liberal Democrats 7; the Conservative Party holds the most seats up for election, totaling 610.
Opposition parties have accused a Labour-Conservative stitch-up regarding the delays, though Conservative leader Nadine Dorries said she would not block postponements. Vijay Rangarajan, head of the Electoral Commission, emphasized that postponements should be exceptional and expressed concern that the mid-January timing has created unprecedented uncertainty for election campaigns and administrators.
