Good morning @here... could you please find a video to go with this story about local elections being cancelled..thank you, NicMinisters were facing a growing backlash against the cancelling of dozens of local elections.More than 130,000 people have signed a petition to ban the Government from being able to axe these town hall and mayoral polls and stressing that the “right to vote is sacred and inalienable”.It means that a minister will have to face a grilling by MPs in the Commons over the cancellations.The petition aims to: “Change the law to remove the power of the Secretary of State to cancel any further forthcoming local government, metropolitan borough, London borough or any other elections, for example, but not limited to, those due in May 2026.”It added: “Ever since 1918, the right to vote is sacred and inalienable. 2025 Elections in some areas were cancelled this year. We believe any further cancellations would be voter suppression and undemocratic. The will of the people of the nation must be heard.”As of Thursday morning, 137,907 people had signed the petition.But the Government was showing no sign of giving ground in the row.In its response to the petition, it said: “The Secretary of State’s powers in this area are set out in legislation made by Parliament and used only with strong justification. The Government has no plans to amend these powers.“Parliament has conferred powers on the Secretary of State to postpone local elections under the Local Government Act 2000. While these powers sit with the Secretary of State, Parliament retains an oversight role through the statutory instrument process, ensuring democratic accountability. These powers are used infrequently.”In December, ministers wrote to 63 councils due to hold elections in May 2026 for views on potentially postponing the 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.Election cancellations have been confirmed or are expected in 27 areas, most of then for Labour-run councils.In London’s commuter area they include Basildon, Thurrock, Stevenage, Oxford, Peterborough and Welwyn Hatfield.Other Labour-run town halls facing election delays include Blackburn with Darwen, Chorley, Exeter, Hyndburn, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Preston, Norwich, Ipswich, Worthing, Rugby, Adur, Tamworth, Cannock Chase and Lincoln.Conservative-run councils which could see poll cancellations include East Sussex, West SussexSuffolk and Harlow, as well as Liberal Democrat-run Cheltenham, and Hastings which is under no overall control.The elections are being delayed as a major shake-up of local government takes place.It will see the two-tier system of district and county councils in many parts of England replaced with new ‘unitary’ councils set up to deliver all local services in their area.The reforms will lead to some town halls due to have held elections this year beoming part of new unitary councils in 2027 or 2028, so councillors could only be in office for a year.Local Government Secretary Steve Reed said: “Running a series of elections for short-lived zombie councils will be costly, time consuming and will take scarce resources away from front-line services like fixing pot holes and social care.”But the Conservatives, Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats have criticised the cancellations.Just weeks ago, Sir Keir Starmer was warned by the electoral watchdog not to deprive voters 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”.
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