❓WHAT HAPPENED: The British government is considering delaying municipal elections for over five million voters amid concerns that victories for Nigel Farage’s Reform Party could disrupt the governing Labour Party’s plans for local government reform.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Conservative (Tory) Party county council leaders, Reform, Labour, and Nigel Farage.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Seven English county councils in Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampshire, Surrey, Essex, East and West Sussex; elections currently scheduled for May 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Now it looks like the Labour government will accede to these demands and once again democracy will be denied in all of these counties. That is a complete total outrage.” – Nigel Farage.
🎯IMPACT: Potential postponements could extend Conservative (Tory) council terms and hinder Reform’s electoral progress.
The British government is considering delaying local council elections for over five million residents following requests from seven Conservative (Tory) county council leaders for a second time. The move would delay elections to 2027.
The Conservative council leaders, representing Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampshire, Surrey, Essex, East Sussex, and West Sussex, expect Reform to win, and argue that holding elections now would be a waste of resources if incoming councils are soon replaced local government reforms proposed by the governing Labour Party.
Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has pushed back against the attmept to postpone the elections again on X, saying, “Now it looks like the Labour government will accede to these demands and once again democracy will be denied in all of these counties. That is a complete total outrage, it’ll mean that people elected back in 2021 will be serving six, seven, who knows how long their terms will be.”
Reform Deputy Leader Richard Tice also strongly condemned the potential delay. “Trying to cancel hundreds more council elections for a second year… Destroying democracy,” he said, accusing the government of being “terrified” of Reform’s rising support.
In early 2025, the Labour government also delayed council elections in nine areas until 2026, citing a supposed need to align them with planned structural changes. Critics called that decision undemocratic, and some peers in the House of Lords attempted to overturn the measure, though the effort was ultimately defeated.
In May 2025, Reform made major gains in local elections, winning hundreds of council seats and securing a parliamentary by-election victory.
The establishment are planning to cancel local elections again.
Let the people vote. pic.twitter.com/b9HWDTQI5s
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) October 17, 2025
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