The UK government, in a dramatic U-turn, said on Monday that it would no longer postpone local elections for millions of voters across England.
The decision by embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration has been claimed as a win by hard-right leader Nigel Farage.
The reversal of the decision to postpone the May 7 local elections in 30 districts came days before a court challenge and follows an intense backlash to the delay, which was formally announced last month.
Ministers had insisted the postponement was necessary to help deliver a wide-ranging local government reorganisation. But the UK government said on Monday that it was reversing its decision “in the light of recent legal advice”.
“The government can confirm that all local elections in May 2026 will now go ahead,” Communities Secretary Steve Reed said in a published letter to leaders of the impacted councils.
He added his ministry would provide up to £63 million ($86 million) in funding to 21 local areas undergoing reorganisation to help stage the votes.
The ruling Labour Party is widely predicted to perform poorly when voters elect representatives to their local councils, which are responsible for services such as rubbish collection, across swathes of England on May 7.
The contests being held include all of London’s 32 boroughs, 16 metropolitan areas elsewhere, and six county councils.
The Labour Party leads or helps to run most of the councils where elections had been set to be postponed, prompting opposition parties to accuse the government of denying democracy.
Nigel Farage claims victory
Nigel Farage, the eurosceptic leader of the hard-right Reform UK Party, had challenged the postponements in the High Court and was set to give evidence once the legal case got underway on Thursday.
“We took this Labour government to court and won. Only Reform UK fights for democracy,” Farage posted on social media shortly after the reversal was announced.
