The United Kingdom’s ruling Labour Party has confirmed that 29 council elections scheduled for May will be postponed, following a request by ministers to 63 councils in England to consider delaying their polls until 2027 as part of a local government reorganisation. While 34 councils will still proceed with elections, those opting for delay will see existing councillors’ terms extended, according to Local Government Secretary Steve Reed.
Reed told MPs that the extensions would be short-term and that elections to the new unitary councils would take place in 2027. However, the decision has drawn sharp criticism. Shadow communities secretary James Cleverly accused Labour of “putting pressure on councils” to cancel elections, saying the move reflects “the Labour Party’s collapse in the opinion polls.”
Reform UK—leading the polls—has responded by launching legal action against the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) over the plans to allow councils to delay elections. Lawyers for the party told the High Court that they would not seek a temporary block if a full hearing could be scheduled quickly. A two-day hearing is expected to begin on February 19th.
Lawyer Timothy Straker, representing Reform UK, said the party wants to ensure that individuals wishing to be associated with Reform UK are “considered and scrutinised” well in advance of elections.
The move comes as Reform UK has become Britain’s largest political party by membership, overtaking Labour. According to internal figures, Labour’s paid-up membership has fallen below 250,000, after shedding around 100,000 members since the July 2024 general election. Reform UK, by contrast, reports 268,631 paid-up members on its publicly available live counter.
