Human rights watchdog should investigate local election delays, Lib Dem leader urges

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has written to the UK's human rights watchdog asking for an investigation into the government's plan to postpone some local elections next year.

In a letter to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, Sir Ed said that nearly ten million people could see their democratic rights "ripped away". It comes after the government indicated it would postpone elections if local authorities undergoing reorganisation requested it.

In his letter, Sir Ed said: "Article 3 of the first protocol of the Human Rights Act spells out in black and white the right to free elections. "Removing elections altogether, entirely unnecessarily, is in clear breach of this principle.

Can you therefore confirm your plans to investigate the government's cavalier approach to our elections?" In a big shake-up of local government, Labour ministers want to scrap the two-tier system of district and county councils, replacing them with new unitary authorities that will deliver all local services from 2028. Many of these are expected to be headed by local mayors, with the plan aimed at widening devolution by giving local leaders more sway over decisions in their areas.

On Thursday, the government revealed it had asked all 63 councils impacted by the shake-up and that are due to hold elections in May to say whether they require a delay, with a deadline of 15 January to respond. In a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS), local government minister Alison McGovern said some authorities were concerned about their capacity to run the polls alongside the planned overhaul, as well as the cost to the taxpayer of holding elections for councils that will soon be abolished.

"Should a council say they have no reason for postponement, then we will listen to them," she said. "But if a council voices genuine concerns about its capacity, then we will take these concerns seriously," she added.

"To that end, the secretary of state is only minded to make an order to postpone elections for one year for those councils that raise capacity concerns." The decision has been criticised by the electoral commission, which has said that capacity constraints aren't a "legitimate reason for delaying long planned elections.