Labour MPs have voiced their fury at Sir Keir Starmer's local elections U-turn amid fears their party will suffer in May.
The Prime Minister was yesterday forced to abandon his plan to cancel local elections for 4.5 million voters after Nigel Farage launched legal action in the High Court.
In response, Mr Farage said believed voters in areas previously denied a poll would "punish" Labour - with Sir Keir's own MPs agreeing.
"Councillors feel like the rug has been taken from underneath them," one Labour MP told The Guardian. "Now they will have to face angry electors."
Another revealed most councillors in their area were "devastated" by the move.
"Many didn't want to cancel the elections," the MP said. "They felt pressurised into it and didn’t feel they had the resources to deliver the planned local government reorganisation too."
On Monday afternoon, Mr Farage told GB News the U-turn was a "victory for our party, but above all, it's a victory for freedom and democracy".
He then joined the Tories in calling for Local Government Secretary Steve Reed to resign.
“Democracy isn't always convenient," he later wrote in The Telegraph. "Nor does it always throw up the result you would like. That's why it matters."
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Unemployment figures show 'economic incompetence' from 'zombie government', says Tories
The Tories have accused Labour of "economic incompetence" after the latest unemployment figures were released.
Tuesday's figures show a five-year high, with rates hitting 5.2 per cent in the three months to December - the highest level of unemployment the UK has seen since January 2021.
Andrew Griffith MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, said: "These figures show the impact of a ‘zombie government’ with no plan for growth.
"Labour’s Jobs Tax, economic uncertainty and their red tape Employment Rights Bill are holding back hiring, creating a jobless generation.
"Only the Conservatives will cut red tape, lower taxes and build a Stronger Economy to get Britain Working Again."
Helen Whately MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: "An unprecedented series of monthly unemployment increases is the hallmark of this Labour Government. The predictable result of bad decisions and economic incompetence.
"Young people are taking the hardest hit. Entry-level roles are the first to disappear from Labour’s tax hikes. By making hiring more expensive and more risky, Labour have are ensuring school leavers and graduates never even get a foot in the door.
"Only the Conservatives have a plan to get Britain working again."
In contrast, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: "Today’s figures show there are 381,000 more people in work since the start of 2025, but we know there is more to do to get people into jobs.
"Our £1.5 billion drive to tackle youth unemployment is a key priority and this month we announced that we’ll make it easier for young people to find and secure an apprenticeship, which comes on top of our investment to create 50,000 new apprenticeships."
Looking ahead to today: Reform's 'shadow Cabinet' announcement
The big story dominating today is Reform's press conference at 11am, where Nigel Farage will unveil his "shadow Cabinet".
Disclaimer; these positions hold no constitutional weight as of yet, rather a spokesman for their respected positions while they are not the Opposition nor in No10.
Fresh from his bombshell defection last month, Robert Jenrick is expected to be announced as the Party's Shadow Chancellor. When asked about this by GB News's Christopher Hope yesterday evening, Mr Jenrick simply said: "You're going to have to wait..."
GB News understands prior to the MP for Newark's arrival, it was instead Zia Yusuf who was in line for the top job, having previously told outlets he was keen for the role. He joins us on the channel this morning.
Mr Yusuf is instead expected to land the Home Office role - a crucial cog in Reform's wheel given their focus on deportations. Richard Tice is expected to be given a combined role as Business and Energy Secretary, while Lee Anderson has already been unveiled as Chief Whip and spokesman for work and pensions.
Some outlets have also reported former Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is in line for Foreign Office.
BREAKING: Unemployment hits five year high as Rachel Reeves faces youth joblessness crisis
The dismal figures follow Britain's youth unemployment overtaking the EU | PAThe unemployment rate increased to 5.2 per cent in the three months to December, compared with 5.1 per cent in the period to November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figures released on Tuesday will come as a blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has pledged to improve opportunity and rebuild the economy.
It's the highest level of unemployment the UK has seen since January 2021, with the number of pay-rolled employees in the UK falling by 121,000 (0.4 per cent) last year.
This latest release is the latest sign that the jobs market is continuing to deteriorate.
Robert Jenrick reveals exact reason why Labour U-turned on local elections
Last night, Robert Jenrick revealed the advice he recieved from Government lawyers which may have imperilled Labour's plan to cancel elections on May 7.
Mr Jenrick told The Telegraph how he was told during the pandemic, when he was Local Government Secretary, that "the Secretary of State wouldn’t have the power to delay democracy".
"During the height of Covid, there were clearly exceptional circumstances which made close social contact risky," he said.
"Even then, the most senior government lawyers advised that it would almost certainly be unlawful to cancel local elections two years running.
"They made clear that the Secretary of State - rightly - wouldn’t have the power to delay democracy. It could not have been stronger. That advice will not have changed."
His successor in charge of local government, Steve Reed, is said to have been handed a similar warning earlier this year.
He then turned the decision over to Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, who advised the Government to abandon the delays.
JUST IN: Labour MP pushes call for Britain to hand over billions in 'colonialism reparations'
A Labour MP has shared a demand for Britain to hand over billions of pounds in "colonialism reparations".
Backbencher Bell Ribeiro-Addy voiced support for the African Union's push to secure the handouts from Western countries including the UK.
On social media, she drew attention to a deal to bring forward a UN resolution next month that would classify the transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity.
The MP has previously called on the Government to "engage" in reparations discussions, arguing that steps must be taken to address the "enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism"...
RECAP: Labour would face electoral wipeout in cancelled local elections - party would lose HALF of seats up for grabs
Last month, a bombshell poll found Labour would have lost control of 10 councils if the May elections were allowed to take place.
The "mega-poll" from JL Partners shared by The Telegraph, surveying 5,000 voters across 25 affected council areas, showed Sir Keir Starmer's party 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.
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...
'Labour's attempt to hide from voters will be costly' warns Tory peer
Lord Pickles, the Local Government Secretary from 2010 to 2015, said it will be an "expensive rush" for the 30 councils affected by Monday's U-turn to put elections back on.
"The department within local authorities is traditionally small; additional resources will have to be applied to ensure the necessary administration is carried out in relation to the various notices," he said.
"Political parties will be in a scramble to contest every seat and raise money to do so. Labour's attempt to hide from the voters will be costly in every sense of the word."
Councils face race against time to hold elections as Kemi Badenoch laments 'predictable chaos'
Kemi Badenoch said the U-turn was 'predictable chaos from a useless Government'
| GETTYThirty councils which suddenly have to face voters are now facing a race against time to hold elections on May 7.
The group representing ballot organisers has said election staff had lost "months" of planning time under the assumption that votes would not go ahead.
City councils in Lincoln, Exeter, Norwich, Peterborough and Preston had been among those where ballots were not to take place in May, alongside districts such as Cannock Chase, Harlow, Welwyn Hatfield and West Lancashire.
Polling day had also been postponed for county council voters in East Sussex, West Sussex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Some £63million will now be made available to local authorities which are being reorganised as part of Labour's plans.
The leader of one Labour-run council in Reform UK heartland Thurrock, Lynn Worrall, said it was "disappointing that this decision has been reversed so late in the day".
Tory councillor Richard Wright, the chairman of the District Councils' Network, said council officers, councillors and local electorates "will be bewildered by the unrelenting changes to the electoral timetable".
Mr Wright added: "The councils affected face an unnecessary race against time to ensure elections proceed smoothly and fairly, with polling stations booked and electoral staff available."
His party leader, Kemi Badenoch, added that the U-turn was "predictable chaos from a useless Government that cannot make basic decisions".
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