This Government is undertaking a once-in-a-generation reform of local government and we will end the outdated two-tier system with new single-tier councils within this Parliament.
We will end the wasteful two-tier cost for local taxpayers and build stronger local councils equipped to drive economic growth, improve local public services, and empower their communities.
We want to eliminate confusion and duplication so we can spend more on the things that the public want - caring for older people, fixing potholes, creating great places to live and work. We are fully committed to ensuring councils have everything they need to deliver new, sustainable structures within this Parliament.
ELECTIONS
In December 2025, in response to concerns voiced by councils about their capacity to deliver a timely and safe transition to new councils alongside resource-intensive elections in May 2026, we wrote to 63 councils who are due to hold local elections to hear their views on the potential postponement of those elections. We have now considered the representations made.
We received over 350 representations from councils with elections scheduled in May and from other councils, interested organisations, colleagues across this House, and members of the public. I am grateful to everyone for the time they took to express their views.
In response to the Government’s 18 December letter, many councils gave the view that their elections should go ahead and many asked us to consider postponing. Some councils did not seek postponement, and some did not provide sufficient evidence to support a postponement decision.
As such, I have decided to bring forward legislation to postpone 29 elections. A full list is at the end of this statement.
136 local council elections across England were scheduled to go ahead in May 2026. Following these decisions, 107 will continue to take place in May 2026, with 29 postponed. That means that the vast majority of local elections will go ahead.
In areas where elections are postponed, existing councillors will have their term of office extended for a short period to smooth the transition to new unitary councils. We expect elections then to take place at the earliest opportunity in 2027 to the new councils.
These decisions also follow precedent. Between 2019 and 2022, the then government postponed many local council elections to protect local government reorganisation work. Postponement then, as now, is to enable focussed work on reorganisation, and to avoid elections to a council which will shortly cease to exist
In reaching my decisions, I have carefully considered all the representations made. I have heard from councils across the country about the capacity challenges they face as they seek to deliver local government reorganisation and how postponement would release essential capacity. I have listened to councils, as I said I would.
NEXT STEPS
I have today written to all 63 councils, confirming which elections we will be seeking to postpone and providing certainty for those that are going ahead. My department will now prepare the necessary order, which will be laid in both houses when parliamentary time allows.
LIST OF 63 COUNCILS IN REORGANISATION AREAS WITH ELECTIONS SCHEDULED IN MAY 2026
Elections where legislation will be brought forward to postpone
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
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 Council
Elections that are going ahead
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Brentwood Borough Council
Broxbourne Borough Council
Cambridge City Council
Cherwell District Council
Colchester City Council
Eastleigh Borough Council
Epping Forest District Council
Essex County Council
Fareham Borough Council
Gosport Borough Council
Hampshire County Council
Hart District Council
Havant Borough Council
Huntingdonshire District Council
Isle of Wight Council
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
North East Lincolnshire Council
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
Oxford City Council
Pendle Borough Council
Plymouth City Council
Portsmouth City Council
Rochford District Council
Rushmoor Borough Council
South Cambridgeshire District Council
Southampton City Council
Southend-on-Sea City Council
St Albans City and District Council
Three Rivers District Council
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Watford Borough Council
West Oxfordshire District Council
Winchester City Council
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