Reform UK takes aim at Labour’s plan to delay local elections

Reform UK has drafted legislation aimed at scuppering Labour’s plans to delay local elections.

The Right-wing party is hoping to garner cross-party support for its Local Election Guarantee Bill, which seeks to force ministers to hold local and mayoral elections in 2026.

The Government has been accused of trying to subvert democracy after announcing that ministers were considering delaying ballots for millions of voters as part of its plans to reorganise local government.

Nigel Farage has said the local election postponements were designed to prevent Reform UK winning a string of elections next May and shield Labour and the Tories from embarrassing results.

Zia Yusuf, the party’s head of policy, told The Telegraph: “We are inviting every member of parliament in the House of Commons who believes in democracy to support this bill, including the Tories. Ultimately, this is a cross-party issue.”

Reform will be able to introduce their bill in parliament in the new year, provided they get a high enough place on the ballot for Private Member’s Bills.

“Our understanding is that the bill has been accepted,” Mr Yusuf said. “We are hopeful that it will get a hearing.”

Last week it emerged that local elections next year are set to be cancelled for millions of voters. Of 63 councils involved, 26 are Labour-run, 12 are Conservative and 10 are Liberal Democrat. One local authority is run by independents, while no party is in overall control in the remaining 14.

The potential delay forms part of the Government’s plans to abolish district councils and merge them with the counties above them into new unitary authorities, which will deliver all services.

Last year, county council elections due in 2025 were postponed for a year in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hampshire and West Sussex, but the announcement means they could now be delayed for a further year.

In addition to this, elections could be delayed in dozens of district councils up and down the country.

Labour has also announced that it is delaying some mayoral elections, which will deny a vote to more than five million people in the south and east of England.

The Liberal Democrats have also criticised plans to delay elections, with their leader Sir Ed Davey claiming it is a breach of the Human Rights Act.

Last week, the Government’s plans were dealt a blow after the head of the Electoral Commission said their proposals to delay local elections are illegitimate.

Vijay Rangarajan, the commission’s chief executive, said it did not think the Government’s justification was a “legitimate reason” for postponing ballots in 63 areas.

He said: “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.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We are taking a locally led approach. Councils are in the best position to judge the impact of postponements on their area, and this government will listen to them.

“These are exceptional circumstances where councils have told us they’re struggling to prepare for resource-intensive elections to councils that will shortly be abolished, while also reorganising into more efficient authorities that can better serve local residents.

“There is a clear precedent for postponing local elections where local government reorganisation is in progress, as happened in 2019 and 2022.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]