Millions of voters across England face the prospect of being unable to cast their ballots this May, as a significant number of local authorities have formally asked to postpone their scheduled elections.
Which Councils Want to Delay the Vote?
Data compiled by the BBC and the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) reveals that at least 30 councils have submitted requests to push back their May 2026 elections. This represents more than a third of the 63 authorities, including city and borough councils, that were due to go to the polls. In contrast, 33 councils have stated they wish to proceed as planned.
The potential delay would affect the democratic rights of more than 2.5 million people. The list of councils seeking postponement is extensive and includes:
- Adur Borough Council
- Arun District Council
- Basildon Borough Council
- Blackburn with Darwen Council
- Burnley Borough Council
- Cheltenham Borough Council
- Chorley Borough Council
- Crawley Borough Council
- Eastbourne Borough Council
- East Sussex County Council
- Exeter City Council
- Hastings Borough Council
- Horsham District Council
- Hyndburn Borough Council
- Ipswich Borough Council
- Lewes District Council
- Mid Sussex District Council
- Norwich City Council
- Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
- Pendle Borough Council
- Peterborough City Council
- Preston City Council
- Redditch Borough Council
- Rother District Council
- Rugby Borough Council
- Stevenage Borough Council
- Thurrock Council
- Wealden District Council
- West Sussex County Council
- Worthing Borough Council
Why Postpone? The Push for Unitary Authorities
The driving force behind these requests is the Labour government's plan, spearheaded by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, to overhaul local government in England. The policy, outlined in Labour's 2024 manifesto and detailed in a December 2024 white paper, aims to abolish the existing two-tier system of district and county councils.
Ministers plan to replace them with larger, single-tier 'unitary authorities', each overseeing a minimum population of 500,000. The government argues the current system is inefficient, slowing decision-making, fragmenting services, and wasting money through duplication.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed told The Times that holding elections for "short-lived zombie councils" would be a costly diversion of resources from frontline services like social care and road repairs. Financial analysis by PwC suggests the reorganisation could save at least £1.8 billion over five years.
Councils have highlighted the expense of proceeding with elections for bodies slated for abolition. For instance, West Sussex County Council stated that elections planned for 2026, 2027, and 2028 would cost taxpayers an estimated £9 million.
Political Controversy and Accusations
The move has sparked significant political controversy. Opposition parties accuse the Labour government of being "running scared" of voters, suggesting the delay is a tactical manoeuvre to protect council seats amid declining poll ratings.
While most councillors supporting a delay are from the Labour party, the requests are not exclusively partisan; three of the councils are Conservative-led, and one is led by the Liberal Democrats.
Critics have labelled the potential postponement as undemocratic. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has suggested it could breach human rights, and Nigel Farage has launched a legal bid to prevent any delays. Public discontent has been visible, with police called to a protest outside the Labour-run Redditch Borough Council in Worcestershire as it debated the request.
The deadline for councils to submit their postponement requests was Thursday, 15 January 2026. Westminster is expected to make a final decision imminently, with ministers having previously indicated they would authorise delays if there were "genuine concerns" about delivering elections during the reorganisation. Approval is widely anticipated.
If granted, this will mark the second consecutive year that local elections have been postponed for some areas, meaning thousands of councillors would serve an additional year beyond their original mandate.
