A major new poll reveals Labour would have lost control of 10 councils if the May elections they've cancelled were actually allowed to take place.
The "mega-poll" from JL Partners shared by The Telegraph, surveying 5,000 voters across 25 affected council areas, shows Sir Keir Starmer's party meagerly trailing behind Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
Reform is on course to take 28 per cent of the vote in areas where contests have been scrapped, with the Conservatives behind on 21 per cent and Labour languishing in third place on 17 per cent.
Labour would lose outright control of six councils including Exeter, Preston and Thurrock, while four more would see their majorities completely wiped out.
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Overall, Keir Starmer's would be expected to lose just under half (93) of the 188 seats it would be defending in the cancelled elections, based on JL Partners’ subset of 25 councils for which polling was available.
A whopping 82 per cent of voters who've been denied their say in May want the elections to go ahead as planned. Just five per cent actually support the delays.
JL Partners says this is one of the biggest margins they've ever recorded in modern political polling.
Even when voters were told the government's reasoning for postponing the contests, still just 17 per cent thought it was an acceptable excuse, while 66 per cent said it simply wasn't good enough.
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, said: "Regardless of party, voters are furious when they hear about election cancellations: that 82 per cent to five per cent margin is one of the biggest I've seen in modern polling."
A major new poll reveals Labour would have lost control of 10 councils if the May elections they've cancelled were actually allowed to happen
|GETTY
Reform has vowed to launch a judicial review in a bid to force the elections to go ahead.
Mr Farage isn't holding back, saying the polling proves exactly what his party has been arguing all along.
He said: "This polling proves what we have been saying for a long time – the establishment has cancelled these elections because they know Reform would win them."
The Conservatives are equally furious. Shadow Communities Secretary Sir James Cleverly accused ministers of "denying democracy" and stripping local communities of their right to choose their own representatives.
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A whopping 82 per cent of voters who've been denied their say in May want the elections to go ahead as planned, while just five per cent actually support the delays
|PA
He pointed out that some councillors will now end up serving seven-year terms as a result.
"Ministers should treat voters with respect instead of disdain, stop undermining our democratic system and let the people of this country make their own decisions," Sir James added.
The government is defending its position, with a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman insisting these are "exceptional circumstances" where councils are struggling to prepare for elections to authorities that will soon be abolished.
Sir Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at King's College London, called the economy argument "humbug."
Reform is on course to take 28 per cent of the vote in areas where contests have been scrapped
|PA
He said: "No doubt having elections is always more expensive than not having them.
"Perhaps it would be cheaper for Keir Starmer to abolish local elections entirely and decide for himself who should serve as our councillors."
Shaun Roberts from Unlock Democracy was equally damning, saying: "Governments cancelling elections without proper justification strikes at the heart of our democracy."
He added that the perception Labour stands to gain most from the cancellations makes the damage even worse.
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