PM abandons plans to delay council elections after legal advice

The government has abandoned plans to postpone 30 local elections in May following legal advice.

Labour announced in December it was planning to cancel elections in 30 areas - affecting more than 4.5 million people - to overhaul English council structures. But on Monday, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it was no longer going ahead with the plan due to "new legal advice".

Reform UK had launched a legal challenge against the government, and the legal advice was in reaction to that case. A letter from the government's legal department to MHCLG, seen by Sky News, said the government will pay Reform's legal costs.

Sky News understands the legal costs are in six figures. An MHCLG spokesman said: "Following legal advice, the government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.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 department has written to all 30 councils to confirm elections will go ahead in May. There will also be a £63 million fund to help local councils across those areas reorganise their structures, with "practical support" also on offer.

U-turn number 15 This is now the 15th U-turn by Sir Keir's government since coming to power in July 2024. Less than two hours before the announcement, the prime minister was asked by the BBC if he would "stick the course now after those U-turns".

He responded: "Absolutely. I know exactly why I was elected in with a five year mandate to change this country for the better, and that's what I intend to do." Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the U-turn "predictable chaos from a useless government that cannot make basic decisions".

Most of the councils that had chosen to postpone, after being invited to by the government in December, were Labour - and Ms Badenoch called the few Conservative-run authorities to choose postponement "silly". She said Housing Secretary Steve Reed now has "very serious questions to answer on whether political considerations were behind his decision" - and she threatened to use "every means at our disposal to get to the truth" if he does not.

Campaigners expressed relief at this latest U-turn but also exasperation over how little time councils now have to put on elections in less than three months. Elliot Keck, campaigns director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers will be hugely relieved to see their right to a vote restored, but it should have never come this far.

"Millions of voters were not just facing cancelled elections, but also the double injustice of increased council tax despite a complete lack of a democratic mandate. "Ministers should still bring in new guidelines making clear that were any elections to be cancelled in future, for any reason, there would be a mandatory freeze on council tax and any other charges." The District Councils' Network, which represents 169 English councils, said councils and voters "will be bewildered by the unrelenting changes to the electoral timetable".

Richard Wright, chair of the DCN, added: "Councils were assured by the government that elections could be legally cancelled but now it seems ministers have come to the opposite conclusion. "The councils affected face an unnecessary race against time to ensure elections proceed smoothly and fairly, with polling stations booked and electoral staff available." This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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