LABOUR CANCELS ELECTIONS FOR 29 COUNCILS
Labour will delay elections for 29 councils in a bid to “repair the broken foundations of local government”, the Government has announced.
Steve Reed, the Local Government Secretary, told the Commons on Thursday that 29 areas will have their elections postponed and will not go ahead as planned in May.
He said he had listened to what councils have told him and had assessed more than 350 representations from local authorities.
Mr Reed said that out of 136 scheduled local elections, “the vast majority will go ahead as planned”.
Mr Reed and Sir Keir Starmer are relying on an obscure clause in the 2000 Local Government Act, which gives ministers the power to delay votes if there are exceptional circumstances.
Earlier this week, Reform was given the legal go-ahead to challenge Labour’s election delays. there will now be a full hearing on the issue on Feb 19 and Feb 20.
