Local Government Shake-Up: 18 Councils Seek Election Delays
Eighteen councils in England are requesting to postpone elections to next year for major reorganizations
Elections, Local Government, England, Reorganization, Councils
London: So, it turns out that 18 local councils in England are asking to push their elections back to next year. They want to make some big changes, and it seems like they think it’s better to wait.
The final call is up to the ministers, and not every request will get the green light. Local Government Minister Jim McMahon mentioned that they’ll be pretty strict about it and hope to decide soon.
With this shake-up, smaller councils might merge with bigger county councils. The idea is to create these new unitary authorities that would serve around 500,000 people. Sounds like a lot, right?
The government believes this will make things simpler and more efficient for local services. But, there’s a catch. The group representing district councils is worried that these “mega councils” could take away local decision-making power.
Plus, there’s some concern about delaying elections just to make these changes happen. It’s a bit of a tricky situation.
On top of that, the government wants every area in England to have a mayor, giving them more power. They’re aiming for the first new mayors to be elected in May 2026, with councils that delay elections voting for new “shadow authorities” in the meantime.
These shadow authorities would have some time to get things up and running. The government expects to roll out the new unitary authorities by April 2027 and 2028.
David Simmonds, the shadow local government minister for the Conservatives, wasn’t shocked by the number of councils asking for delays. He pointed out that it doesn’t make sense to spend a ton of money on elections for councils that might not even exist anymore.
But he also warned that the ongoing uncertainty could waste money too. McMahon said they’d only postpone elections if there’s a solid plan for reorganization. He added that it would be silly to hold elections for councils that are about to be dissolved.
He promised that elections would happen as soon as possible. Vikki Slade from the Liberal Democrats said local government needs some serious reform but worried that local voices might get ignored by decisions coming from above.
Conservative MP Mark Francois mentioned that there’s no real demand for these changes in his area of Essex. He even suggested a referendum so people could vote on whether they want these big changes or prefer to keep things as they are.
Rupert Lowe from Reform UK brought up a good point about why people should keep paying council tax if their elections are delayed. It’s a fair question, right?
Some MPs were curious about what would happen if a struggling council merged with a financially stable one. Kit Malthouse said it wouldn’t be fair if years of careful management were wiped out by merging with a less responsible council.
Will Forster, a Lib Dem MP, pointed out that his local council has racked up a massive debt and wondered if neighboring councils would have to share that burden. He asked if the government would consider writing off that debt.
McMahon joked that agreeing to pay off such a huge debt without the Treasury’s okay would be a career-ending move for him. He acknowledged the financial challenges and said they’re working on a solution, but they’re not ready to announce anything yet.