A list of councils that have requested a delay to their local elections has now been released.
Twenty-nine councils have requested a delay to their local elections which are due to take place in May. Of these, 21 are led by Labour, four are Conservative, two are Liberal, one is Green, and one is Independent.
It comes as Labour’s plans to scrap two-tier authorities and merge them into single unitary councils by 2028 are implemented.
The councils said a lack of resources needed to deliver local government reorganisation (LGR), and the cost of holding elections has led to the need for a delay.
Sixty-three councils were offered a delay to their May elections by the government due to the obstacles surrounding LGR plans.
Out of the 63 councils Sky News approached, 29 said they will be requesting a delay, 33 said they will not, and one could not agree internally, analysis by Sky News found.
The councils that have asked for a delay:
- Adur District Council (Labour)
- Basildon Borough Council (Labour)
- Blackburn with Darwen Council (Labour) Burnley Borough Council (Burnley Independent Group)
- Cannock Chase District Council (Labour)
- Cheltenham Borough Council (Lib Dem)
- Chorley Borough Council (Labour)
- City of Lincoln Council (Labour)
- Crawley Borough Council (Labour)
- East Sussex County Council (Tory)
- Exeter City Council (Labour)
- Harlow District Council (Tory)
- Hastings Borough Council (Green)
- Hyndburn Borough Council (Labour)
- Ipswich Borough Council (Labour)
- Norwich City Council (Labour)
- Pendle Borough Council (Lib Dem)
- Peterborough City Council (Labour)
- Preston City Council (Labour)
- Redditch Borough Council (Labour)
- Rugby Borough Council (Labour)
- Stevenage Borough Council (Labour)
- Suffolk County Council (Tory)
- Tamworth Borough Council (Labour)
- Thurrock Council (Labour)
- Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (Labour)
- West Lancashire Borough Council (Labour)
- West Sussex County Council (Tory)
- Worthing Borough Council (Labour)
The delays have been criticised by opposition parties, with Tory shadow local government secretary James Cleverly accusing Labour of “running scared of voters” amid devastating approval ratings.
“We are clear that these elections should go ahead. Ministers should treat voters with respect instead of disdain, stop undermining our democratic system and let the people of this country make their own decisions,” he added.
The Liberal Democrats have called for a change in the law so “ministers cannot simply delay elections at the stroke of a pen”, with party leader Sir Ed Davey saying: “Both Labour and the Conservatives are running scared of the electorate, allowing councillors to serve terms of up to seven years without a democratic mandate.”
Nigel Farage took the opportunity to express his outrage at the delays, as there is the possibility that Reform UK could wipe out Labour in some areas.
On Thursday, he launched plans for a judicial review in an attempt to make the elections go ahead, and has accused communities secretary Steve Reed of an “abuse of power”.
“We will use every means possible, starting with our judicial review”, he added.
Vijay Rangarajan, chief executive of the Electoral Commission, said the move caused “unprecedented” uncertainty and could damage public confidence.
“We are disappointed by both the timing and substance of the statement. Scheduled elections should as a rule go ahead as planned, and only be postponed in exceptional circumstances”, he said.
Mr Rangarajan added: “As a matter of principle, we do not think that capacity constraints are a legitimate reason for delaying long-planned elections.
“Extending existing mandates risks affecting the legitimacy of local decision-making and damaging public confidence.
“There is a clear conflict of interest in asking existing councils to decide how long it will be before they are answerable to voters.”