More than five million voters across southern England could be denied their democratic right to vote for a second consecutive year as Conservative-controlled councils privately lobby ministers to postpone elections until 2027, citing fears of a Reform UK sweep.
Seven county council leaders from Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampshire, Surrey, Essex, East Sussex and West Sussex are pressing the government to extend delays already granted for 2026, handing Tory-run authorities an unprecedented six-year term without facing the ballot box.
The extraordinary manoeuvre comes after these same councils successfully obtained a one-year postponement from May 2025 to May 2026, ostensibly to facilitate Labour’s ambitious restructuring of local government across England.
‘We Will Get Reform’
Behind closed doors, Conservative council leaders have admitted their real motivation centres on preventing Nigel Farage’s party from seizing control and derailing institutional plans.
“Officially, we are prepared to go ahead. But privately we are saying elections would be a huge waste,” one Conservative council leader confided. “Officials and councillors would spend months preparing for them, and then you will probably get a new Reform administration which will frustrate progress.”
Another county leader was even more explicit about the electoral arithmetic driving the lobbying campaign. “We are lobbying hard for their elections to be delayed because we are confident we will get Reform mayors next year,” they stated. “Having Reform mayors and Reform council leaders who are all brand new will create instability as to what’s gone before and what needs to be achieved.”
The candid admissions reveal deep anxiety within Conservative ranks about Reform’s trajectory following the party’s breakthrough performance in May’s local elections, when it captured 804 council seats and seized control of 10 authorities for the first time.
Labour’s Governance Revolution
The government is pursuing the most radical transformation of English local administration in decades, planning to abolish all 164 district councils and scrap the two-tier system where county and district authorities share responsibilities.
In its place, ministers want to establish larger unitary councils led by directly elected mayors wielding extensive devolved powers over areas including transport, housing and economic development.
Eighteen councils initially requested delays to their 2025 elections to accommodate the transition, with nine applications approved. Those authorities will hold polls in May 2026 instead, with restructured bodies expected to launch in April 2027 and 2028.
However, the fresh requests for further postponement would push democratic accountability back an additional year, meaning residents would endure a full six years under the same leadership despite the standard four-year electoral cycle.
Crucially, four new mayoral elections covering the affected regions would still proceed as scheduled next year, raising the spectre that Conservative council leaders warn about: Reform mayors working alongside Tory county councils until 2027, potentially creating administrative gridlock.
‘Destroying Democracy’
Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader and Boston & Skegness MP, unleashed a blistering attack on what he characterised as a cross-party conspiracy to suppress democracy.
“Trying to cancel hundreds more council elections for a second year… Destroying democracy,” Tice wrote on social media. Terrified Tories, scared socialists know that Reform UK will win.
Reform leader Nigel Farage amplified the criticism, accusing Conservative-led councils of political cowardice. “It is denying people their democratic rights and frankly, I’m angry. I think the whole thing is a complete and utter disgrace,” Farage told supporters at a regional conference.
The party has particular reason for optimism in the targeted counties. Essex alone is home to two of Reform’s five MPs, whilst UKIP previously demonstrated strong support in West Sussex. Electoral analysts suggest Reform could make substantial gains across all seven councils seeking further delays.
Government Weighs Options
Devolution Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh has held meetings with Conservative council leaders over recent days to discuss the proposals, which ministers are examining with considerable caution.
A government source acknowledged the complexity of the situation. “Democracies are in crisis across the world, and we need to be really careful not to run an expensive election that does not have any meaning at all,” they stated, referring to concerns that voters might elect councillors to authorities about to be dissolved.
However, a formal government spokesman maintained that elections should proceed unless exceptional circumstances justify postponement. “We are clear that the starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification otherwise,” the spokesperson declared.
Labour Doubts Over Delivery
Internal scepticism is emerging within Labour ranks about whether the government can successfully implement its sweeping local government overhaul on the aggressive timeline ministers have outlined.
Some Labour MPs privately question whether abolishing 164 district councils and creating numerous new mayoral authorities can realistically be achieved within the proposed schedule, particularly if political opposition materialises from Reform-controlled authorities.
The concerns reflect broader worries about Reform’s potential to disrupt Labour’s agenda from positions of local power, mirroring fears expressed by Conservative council leaders about institutional instability.
Democratic Deficit Widens
The potential for further delays comes after recent analysis revealed that between 2018 and 2024, nine per cent of all scheduled local elections in England were cancelled, predominantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic but with local government reorganisation contributing significantly.
In 2021, six areas had elections postponed for unitarisation, with voters instead casting ballots for new authorities in 2022. However, the current situation differs in scale, potentially affecting millions of residents across some of England’s most populous counties.
Critics point out that the longer electoral cycles benefit incumbents regardless of performance, whilst denying voters the opportunity to pass judgement on how councils have handled key issues including housing, social care and local services during a period of intense financial pressure.
Lower-tier district councils, which face abolition under the government’s plans, have expressed reservations about delays they view as unnecessary and potentially divisive. Alistair Beales, leader of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Council, described Norfolk’s postponement as plainly unnecessary.
Political Tightrope
Labour faces a delicate balancing act. Granting the requests could accelerate devolution plans by avoiding the complication of newly elected councils immediately facing abolition. Yet agreeing to further delays would hand ammunition to Reform and other opposition parties claiming the government fears democratic accountability.
Conservative shadow local government secretary Kevin Hollinrake warned against central government diktat. “No council should be bullied or blackmailed into local government restructuring. It should not be imposed by top-down Whitehall fiat,” he argued.
The unusual spectacle of Conservative councils seeking Labour government intervention to avoid elections underscores the extent to which Reform’s rise has scrambled traditional political alignments and calculations.
Whatever ministers decide, the controversy highlights fundamental tensions between democratic representation and administrative efficiency when implementing major constitutional change, with millions of voters potentially caught in the crossfire.
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Image Credit:
Nigel Farage — official portrait (crop 2) by Laurie Noble, licensed under CC BY 3.0
