Labour is set to lose control of six councils in May after Nigel Farage forced the Government into a humiliating U-turn over postponed elections.
Sir Keir Starmer had to drop plans to delay polls in 30 local authorities until 2027 after lawyers warned the Government that it was likely to lose a legal challenge to the move launched by Farage’s Reform UK.
The embarrassing about-turn piles further pressure onto Starmer at a time when his premiership is already under threat.
The Local Government Secretary Steve Reed approved the delays to deliver a reorganisation, which would replace the two-tier system of district and county councils, which exists in many parts of England, with unitary authorities responsible for all council services.
However, Farage had launched a legal challenge against the decision to postpone the elections on May 7, which was due to be heard in the High Court on Thursday.
On Monday, Reed sent a letter to council leaders announcing that the Government had written to the court to withdraw its decision.
The Government has had to allocate £63m to the local authorities, which are now having to organise elections at late notice, and must also pay Reform’s legal costs, which are understood to be more than £100,000.
Writing on X, Farage said: “The government tried to cancel democracy. They have been defeated. This is now a resignation matter for Steve Reed.”
The move represents an embarrassing reversal for the Government, which has already had to perform U-turns on policies such as cuts to winter fuel payments, welfare reform and the level of inheritance tax levied on farmers.
The decision is also likely to mean that Labour loses more councils on 7 May, which Labour critics are framing as a referendum on Starmer’s leadership.
According to a poll by JL Partners for The Telegraph, Labour is forecast to lose control of six councils due to elections which will now proceed: Blackburn with Darwen, Cannock Chase, Exeter, Preston, Thurrock and Worthing.
Labour backbenchers are understood to have reacted furiously to the news on an MP WhatsApp group.
Florence Eshalomi, the Labour chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, said that the Government had been wrong to try to postpone the elections.
In a statement, she said: “I welcome this development. As I argued previously, democracy is not an inefficiency that should be cut out during local government reorganisation process.”
“Councils should not have been put in the position of choosing between frontline services or elections. I welcome the indication that the Government will provide additional resources to ensure that local council elections can take place and look forward to seeing more detail on this”.
Cllr Richard Wright, chair of the District Councils’ Network, said: “Council officers, councillors and local electorates will be bewildered by the unrelenting changes to the electoral timetable.
He added: “The councils affected face an unnecessary race against time to ensure elections proceed smoothly and fairly, with polling stations booked and electoral staff available.
“If election cancellations were deemed necessary to free up capacity for local government reorganisation to succeed, councils will now be asking where this leaves the reorganisation timetable.
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“We need to have faith in the Government’s decision-making as we work on the biggest shake-up of councils in 50 years – but the Government is doing little assure us that it has a strong grasp of the huge legal complexity involved.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “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.”
Councils that asked to postpone their elections
Adur District Council Basildon Borough Council Blackburn with Darwen Council Burnley Borough Council Cannock Chase District Council Cheltenham Borough Council Chorley Borough Council City of Lincoln Council Crawley Borough Council East Sussex County Council Exeter City Council Harlow District Council Hastings Borough Council Hyndburn Borough Council Ipswich Borough Council Norfolk County Council Norwich City Council Pendle Borough Council Peterborough City Council Preston City Council Redditch Borough Council Rugby Borough Council Stevenage Borough Council Suffolk County Council Tamworth Borough Council Thurrock Council Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council West Lancashire Borough Council West Sussex County Council Worthing Borough CouncilHence then, the article about the councils starmer is set to lose after farage forces local election u turn was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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