This Government is undertaking a once-in-a-generation reform of local government and we will end the outdated two-tier system with new single-tier councils within this Parliament.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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