Local Elections Could Be Postponed to 2027 Amid Councils' Reorganisation Plans
Ministers have indicated that local elections scheduled for May next year could be postponed to 2027 if councils affected by ongoing reorganisation requests so by mid-January. Nine areas have already postponed their May 2025 polls once; a further delay would extend some councillors' terms to seven years without electoral scrutiny.
The proposed delay is linked to Labour's plan to abolish the two-tier district and county system, creating new authorities responsible for all local services from 2028. Sixty-three councils undergoing this reorganisation have been asked to declare whether they want to delay elections, with officials citing concerns about the strain of running resource-intensive elections alongside the transition and the associated costs to taxpayers.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed had previously stated that scheduled elections would proceed, highlighting internal government tensions over the timing of these polls. Elections for new mayors in Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent, and Sussex and Brighton have already been pushed back to May 2028.
Labour holds majorities in 18 of the 63 councils likely to be affected; the Conservatives hold nine councils, and the Liberal Democrats seven. The Conservatives are defending the largest number of seats among those affected, totaling 1,415. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has accused Labour and the Conservatives of colluding to delay political gains, describing the situation as akin to a "banana republic."
