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Politics Home Article | Government Abandons Plan To Delay 30 Council Elections
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Keir Starmer has scrapped plans to postpone dozens of local elections.
MPs were told on Monday that elections in 30 local authorities will now go ahead after having been delayed until 2027.
The government later confirmed the decision, with a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Governmentspokesperson saying it was due to legal advice.
“Following legal advice, the government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.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,” they said.
In a letter seen by PoliticsHome, the government was warned by lawyers that the decision to delay some local elections would be illegal.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK had launched a legal challenge against the move to delay elections in the 30 areas.
The 7 May elections, which will take place in councils across England, as well as to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, are expected to be bruising for Starmer’s Labour Party.
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