Nigel Farage has said Reform UK is “primed and ready” to launch a judicial review against the Government over the potential postponement of local elections.
Across England, 29 councils have either announced delays or have yet to confirm whether they will proceed with scheduled votes. Of those, 21 are run by Labour. Just four Labour-controlled authorities have confirmed they will not postpone ballots, while a further 17 are still undecided.
By contrast, only two Conservative-run councils have said they will delay a vote, along with a single Liberal Democrat authority.
Local authorities face a January 15 deadline to decide whether to press ahead with elections or postpone them.
Should everyone follow through and delay their elections, as many as 10 million Britons could be denied the chance to vote.
Mr Farage has cried foul, pointing to Reform UK’s strong polling performance in many of the areas where Labour councils have opted for delays. Preston, Chorley, Hyndburn, and Blackburn with Darwen have all chosen to hold their elections at a later date — and all four are areas where Reform UK is enjoying a surge in support.
The Reform UK leader accused Labour of postponing the votes to spare the party electoral humiliation. Speaking at a rally in London on Thursday evening, he confirmed that his party is now exploring legal action.
“When we find out how many of the mayoral, county and local elections in districts and boroughs have been cancelled next Thursday, we are primed and ready to launch a judicial review against the Government for these actions,” he said.
“My apologies to the press office for not saving it — I just couldn’t resist it,” he added, joking.
The postponements follow an offer from Communities Secretary Steve Reed allowing councils to delay their polls until 2027, ostensibly to allow them to focus on local Government reorganisation.
However, the Electoral Commission has condemned the delays as illegitimate, warning that capacity constraints do not amount to valid grounds for postponing scheduled elections. Its chief executive, Vijay Rangarajan, cautioned that extending existing mandates risks undermining public confidence in local democracy.
Conservative shadow minister Sir James Cleverly has also criticised the Government, accusing Labour of being “scared of the voters” and pointing to broken promises over election timing. He said ministers had pledged that council elections would go ahead as planned, only to reverse course days later.
“Labour cancelled mayoral elections and now they are at it again with council elections, fiddling the democratic process to serve their own political interests,” Sir James said.
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Keir Starmer has been criticised over his party's dithering on local elections
| GETTYThe former Home Secretary warned that some elected representatives could now serve seven-year terms, despite Electoral Commission guidance advising against election delays exceeding 12 months.
Mr Farage also directed criticism at the Conservatives, urging party leader Kemi Badenoch to instruct Tory council leaders to proceed with their scheduled votes.
“Only banana republics ban elections — that’s what we have under Starmer,” he said.