Sir Keir Starmer has been warned by the electoral watchdog not to deprive voters in London’s commuter belt and other parts of England from being able to take part in local elections as a row grows over delaying them.
John Pullinger, chairman of the Electoral Commission, criticised the Government for the “late” announcement over possible new delays to local polls.
He stressed that town halls had been put in an “invidious” position of being allowed to make the case for a delay, risking a conflict of interest for councillors, amid a major local government restructuring.
The watchdog objected to any delays but emphasised that if they were for more than a year it would be “depriving voters of something that they legitimately have reason to expect”.
Ministers have written to 63 councils due to hold elections in May 2026 for views on potentially postponing polls.
Elections in nine areas, including the London commuter belt counties of Essex, Surrey, Hampshire and East and West Sussex, as well as Norfolk and Suffolk, had initially seen their elections delayed by 12 months until next year to allow for the reorganisation process.
But, while Surrey and Hampshire are likely to go ahead with votes in May, the others could be postponed again until 2027.
Oxford, Welwyn Hatfield, Watford, South Cambridgeshire and Cheltenham are also among the areas which could have votes delayed until 2027.
While Mayoral elections in Greater Essex, Hampshire and the Solent, Sussex and Brighton and Norfolk and Suffolk, originally planned for May 2026, may now not take place until May 2028.
Many of the areas could have seen a surge in support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, if voting in the local elections reflected national polls which show his party ahead of Labour and the Conservatives.
Criticising the delays, Mr Pullinger said: “This particular announcement, there are two things that concern us about it.
“The first is it’s so late,” he explained with decisions due to take place in January for elections in May.
“If this had been proposed earlier, there would have been an opportunity to make sure that we heard the views of all the parties who might be involved to make sure that this was something that would be acceptable.”
He also stressed that councils had been put in an “invidious” position by being able to make the case to delay elections.
“If they are delayed, a delay of more than a year really is unacceptable,” he added on Times Radio.
“We don’t think they should be delayed at all.
“A delay of more than a year really is depriving voters of something that they legitimately have reason to expect.”
The delays have been heavily criticised by Mr Farage, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
The Government has been accused of “dictator” tactics.
But local government minister Alison McGovern said the Government would “listen to councils who are expressing concerns about their capacity to deliver a smooth and safe transition to new councils, alongside running resource-intensive elections to councils who may be shortly abolished”.
