Govt U-turns on local election postponements on legal grounds
Elections in Lancashire and across the country will go ahead as planned in May after the government reversed a decision to delay them following a legal challenge by Reform UK.
The U-turn marks a victory for Reform UK, which launched court proceedings challenging the postponement, and the latest in a series of blows for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The decision to hold the elections means that Labour, which is way behind Reform in the polls, is at risk of a widespread loss of seats.
A letter sent to councils by secretary of state Steve Reed in late January confirmed requests by Blackburn, Preston, West Lancs, Hyndburn, Chorley, and Burnley councils to have May’s elections deferred by a year had been granted.
The councils had cited the time and resources required to carry out local government reorganisation as their reasons for requesting the delay.
Seven out of the eight Lancashire councils who asked for a delay were told they could postpone their elections, with Pendle told to proceed as planned.
However, another letter sent by Reed today confirmed the government’s U-turn and that elections in Lancashire will take place as originally planned.
A £63m cash pot will be made available to councils to help them run the elections while carrying out the arduous task of local government reorganisation.
“I recognise that many of the local councils undergoing reorganisation voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under as we seek to deliver the most ambitious reforms of local government in a generation,” the letter said.
“I am therefore announcing today that we will provide up to £63m in additional capacity funding to the 21 local areas undergoing reorganisation across the whole programme, building on the £7.6m provided for developing proposals last year.”
The letter adds that Labour will pay Reform’s costs.
Tweeting about the U-turn, Reform leader Nigel Farage said: “We took this Labour government to court and won. In collusion with the Tories, Keir Starmer tried to stop 4.6m people voting on May 7th.”
What a waste of money, the government should’ve stuck to their guns on this one.
Reform are proving themselves very adept at wasting tax payers money and shows how irresponsible they would be in office.’
By Anonymous
Entirely predictable outcome. Where were the “grown ups” when this decision was originally made?
By Anonymous
Reform clearly want to waste money for their perceived short-term political advantage.
By Anonymous
The argument that it didn’t make sense to deny people the vote ‘as the authority would change within two years’ never washed. The fact that Starmer has opposed this only re-instated people’s suffrage by dint of court order is a very bad look indeed.
Methinks there’ll be a reckoning on May 7th. Get ready for a lot of Reform-led councils here in the north west – including on Merseyside.
By Enfranchised
Don’t worry, it’s only our money they’re throwing around left right and centre in the hope of avoiding an electoral drubbing.
How much time and effort (money) have they wasted getting councils to go through the motions of colluding with them on this. And now they really have got a planning problem on their hands, rather than a pretend one!
Glad they haven’t been able to get away with it in the end. Shocking that they tried.
By John
Fantastic news and a victory for democracy. I sincerely hope Reform totally eradicate Labour in Liverpool. Can’t wait to see the back of Rotherham. Hopefully then we will see a Party that will recognise Liverpool for all its worth. Holding my breadth now for all the Reform doubters to kick in now.
By Stephen Hart
It’s clearly stupid to waste time and money on this, but it’s also bizarre a Government that supposedly pays too much attention to lawyers didn’t bother getting sound legal advice on any of this.
Also, please could any of our new Reform enthusiasts show us their working-out as to which LCR council they will be controlling from May and how this could feasibly happen given it’s decided ward by ward in real life, with all kinds of local dynamics, and not on national share predicted by increasingly dubious opinion polls or what may or may not happen in Gorton & Denton?
By Steve Dontbotherem
Stephen Hart – this decision had nothing to do with the Liverpool city region mayor. A great demonstration of Reform ignorance.
By Anonymous
People must have the right to vote. Period.
By Rye
Anonymous @10.57 it’s got everything to do with the Liverpool City Mayor Rotherham. Because like Labour they are both useless and ignorant of the real needs of the people of this City. Reform is happening and the UK populous will demonstrate that on the 7th of May.
By Stephen Hart
I would simply say that those local councillors and their respective party’s who opposed the cancelling of the elections in the first place. You should have all resigned and made their respective councils democratically unmanageable and in turn it would have forced local elections to take place, rather than wait once again for people to use our unelected courts to run our country. No democracy in that..
By Russell P
Cant wait – Labour out.
By Anonymous
I personally cant recall in my lifetime a government looking to cancel elections , imagine the absolute indignant carry on if labour where the opposition witnessing that ? It is a stunt we associate with a state like North Korea not Labour in the UK . It was a shameful act .
By Paul
@Stephen Hart 9:57am – don’t you have a roundabout to paint or a flag to cable tie to a lamp post? Electing councillors to soon to be abolished councils is a complete waste of money and time. Reform love to waste money and then have the highest council tax increases despite promising the opposite. Liverpool is not being reorganised therefore the decision has nothing to do with Liverpool.
By Dom
Paul – the local elections weren’t being cancelled they were being postponed until the new form of local government was introduced. This made sense to save time and money, money which could be put to better use.
By Anonymous
Reform didn’t start the fight.
Vote baby vote!
By Anonymous
Come on Liverpool – let’s get Reform voted in and Labour kicked out for good!
By Anonymous
Well done nige Elections should have been allowed to go ahead anyway the regeneration isn’t going to happen till 2028 and that will be a disaster anyway . Essex didn’t get to vote last year so it would have meant 2 we were denied . So glad they are going ahead . Democracy lives well for now . Starmer is a lawyer and should have know. better to block the vote but we all know why worried about the results. He hasn’t made the best decisions lately has he .labour your time is up
By Js
Reform are mostly a southern/Russian party aren’t they? Confused as to why anyone thinks they’d be helpful for the north. Bet most of their MPs probably couldn’t point to the north on a map
By Anonymous
When all Labour Party propagandists have left to post are carefully worded slurs about opposition parties, it is clear they have nothing left to offer society.
By John
The party for failed tory politicians otherwise known as Reform would be a disaster for the north of England. Their focus would on helping their friends and backers in city of London. They have already announced the cancellation of a number of much needed infrastructure projects which will benefit the north. Their plan to cancel investment in northern railways demonstrates their economic ignorance and their contempt for the north.
By Anonymous
@ February 18, 2026 at 12:52 pm
By Anonymous
No. Reform UK’s base is the Midlands and North plus the semi industrial parts of the south east like Kent, Essex and the Solent.
By Anonymous