The fundamental principle of democracy is that people get to regularly express their view on the politicians who make decisions that affect them. So it is welcome that the government has today reversed the decision to postpone elections in 30 councils, which would have seen millions of people a vote in May.
The postponements were prompted by the government’s re-organisation of local councils, which will see the two-tier system abolished and replaced with larger unitary councils. This led to some councils arguing they didn’t have the capacity to hold elections in May and ministers agreeing to postpone them.
The government pointed to precedent for council elections being postponed in certain circumstances, such as when one is due to be held for a council that is about to be abolished and another election would need to be held immediately the following year.
Elections postponed on an unprecedented scale
However, we had not seen this scale of postponements before. Also, four of the councils facing postponement of their elections in May had already had their elections cancelled in 2025, which meant some councillors would not have faced voters for a term and half. We wrote about this last month and said such an extension to councillors’ terms without an election was unacceptable.
In the meantime, the government has faced a growing backlash over the postponements, with protests taking place at some councils and some residents threatening to withhold their council tax payments.
Ministers were also facing a legal challenge to the postponement, and reporting suggests the decision to reverse it came after legal advice the government received. However, the decision was reached, it is welcome to see the elections in May reinstated.
Elections are not an either/or when it comes to councils running public services; they are the vital democratic mandate politicians need to run those public services, so it is right that voters will get their say at the ballot box in a few months.
Process for postponements need to be looked at for future
There is a question now over the process by which elections are postponed in the future. Last month we said the process needed to be re-examined and the events of this week have only strengthened that case. These delays and then the reversal will have implications for councils as their officers will now have to organise their elections at short notice.
There needs to be clarity around the exceptional circumstances where elections may be postponed, the process for deciding when they are, and for how long.
Because, as we have seen, it is clear the voters feel very strongly about their democratic rights and any decision to postpone elections in future must be a last resort.
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