Lancashire council react to election U-turn

Political leaders across Lancashire are readying their troops to fight local elections that it appeared were never going to happen, after the government staged a dramatic U-turn over a previous decision to scrap electoral contests.

They were due to take place in seven districts – Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Preston and West Lancashire – on 7th May.

Having resolved last month that voting would not proceed as planned – amid claims that councils would struggle both to stage elections and prepare for a shake-up that will see all 15 main authorities in Lancashire abolished and replaced in 2028 – local government secretary Steve Reed backtracked on Monday and reinstated the polls.

The move followed a legal challenge from Reform UK which was due to be heard at the High Court later this week, as the party attempted to overturn the decision taken to axe elections in 30 council areas across England because ‘local government reorganisation’ (LGR) was taking place in each of them.

Mr. Reed said the change of mind followed “recent legal advice”.

Speaking on behalf of Reform across Lancashire, Stephen Atkinson – the party’s leader on Lancashire County Council, which is not due to hold elections this year – branded the original cancellation plan “a disgrace”.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “There should be no taxation without representation.   Steve Reed should explain why he allowed this to happen – he should publish the legal advice in full and if his actions [were] unlawful, he should consider his position.

“This is a complete victory for Reform – Reform guaranteed democracy.

“Councillors who voted to stop democracy will now have to face the electorate,“ said County Cllr Atkinson, who had previously written to the Secretary of State urging him not to interfere in the election schedule.

Late last year, the government gave any council with an election scheduled for this May – and whose days were numbered because of the forthcoming LGR changes – the chance to request that their polls were “postponed”, pending elections to so-called’ shadow’ versions of the replacement councils, due to be held in May 2027. They invited the authorities to outline any concerns they had about their capacity to hold elections this year and carry out the work needed for LGR.

Requests were submitted – and ultimately accepted by the government – in relation to all seven Lancashire councils with elections scheduled for May 2026, against the backdrop of varying degrees of local political controversy.

In the cases of Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle and Preston, submissions were made on behalf of the authorities themselves after majority or unanimous votes of their full councils or cabinets. However, in West Lancashire, the call came from the ruling Labour group alone, as no council or cabinet vote was held.

Mr. Reed said last month that he had made his decision after “a comprehensive consideration of all the evidence available to me”.

He added: “By delaying these elections, I am confident that we will be releasing essential capacity within councils to allow [councils] teams to focus their full energy on the complex reorganisation process, while also addressing concerns regarding the cost of holding elections for bodies that will soon cease to exist.”

However, those elections will now go ahead in Lancashire as they were previously intended, with one in three seats on each of the local authorities – usually one in each ward – being contested.

No elections were due to take place this year in the Blackpool, Fylde, Lancaster, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble and Wyre council areas.

Election U-turn reaction so far

Preston City Council 

The ruling Labour group’s cabinet had requested a change to the election timetable ahead of LGR, which council leader Matthew Brown said was “proportionate” to ensure the necessary focus on the complexity of the shake-up process.

Responding to the government’s reversal, he told the LDRS:  “From a Preston Labour perspective, we are pleased this will at least bring speculation to an end.

“We have been looking to the future, as next May we will have new unitary authorities with budgets exceeding £500m – and a whole host of powers not available to district authorities. I hope opposition parties will outline a vision of the future in their manifestos.

“We are looking forward to putting our case to the people of Preston [regarding] that future vision. We are up for the fight and looking forward to challenging the populist right politics of Reform UK, especially, who are seeking to divide our communities here in Preston.”

With one third of the seats on the authority now up for grabs once again at the reinstated polls, Liberal Democrat opposition group leader John Potter said:  “As the only party that can overtake Labour and become the largest group in Preston, we are delighted that the government has done the right thing and will allow elections to go ahead in May.

“The people of Preston deserve their say on the out-of-touch Labour council and shambolic government.   We welcome the opportunity for the people of Preston to continue to have a say in local government amidst Labour’s chaos.”

Conservative opposition group leader Harry Landless also welcomed the chance to “fight the good fight” at the ballot box, but said he did not think the chopping and changing over the vote “helps the electorate”.

“People have a right to be frustrated with politics in general at the moment,” Cllr Landless added.

Chorley Council

Chorley Council’s ruling Labour group has such a tight grip on the authority, that it was always mathematically impossible for it to lose control in May, when only a third of the seats were being contested.

Nevertheless, council leader Alistair Bradley and his party voted in full council in November not to proceed with this year’s poll, because of what he said was the potential for elections elsewhere in Lancashire to destabilise the already tortuous process of LGR in the county    He said at the timethat it did not make any sense to “change the entire cast list” at such a key juncture.

Speaking to the LDRS after the government U-turn, Cllr Bradley said:  “We recognise the high bar that should be placed on postponing local elections and shared the concern with other authorities that conducting local elections in May 2026 would mean that vital services for residents, along with the local government reorganisation process, could be affected.

“We do, however, recognise that it is a government decision – and will move forward in preparation for an election in May as directed.”

The LDRS also approached the Conservative opposition group leader for comment.

West Lancashire Borough Council

West Lancashire’s Labour leader, Yvonne Gagen, said in January she believed the government should have made “a blanket decision” over any changes to election plans – rather than requesting submissions from councils themselves.

However, her ruling group met just 24 hours before the deadline for such submissions to be made – and a majority of members supported making the same cancellation request as the six other Lancashire councils with elections scheduled this year had already done, in order for there to be a consistent approach across the county.   As there had not been a vote in full council or cabinet, a letter was sent to the government from Cllr Gagen only in her capacity as Labour group leader.

She has been approached for comment about the government’s U-turn.

Conservative opposition group leader David Whittington – who made a joint call to the government with Our West Lancashire group leader Adrian Owens for the elections to go ahead – told the LDRS he was “delighted” by the news.

“Elections should only be cancelled in very exceptional circumstances and these are not very exceptional circumstances. I was disappointed that my representations to the government were ignored.

“I hope that the information I provided to Reform to help the legal case was of assistance in getting this outcome,” Cllr Whittington added.

Cllr Ownes said his group had also “supplied evidence of the illegitimate process used in West Lancashire for the legal case that has prompted this screeching U-turn from the government” – and added that West Lancashire residents could now pass their verdict on the local authority’s performance.

Pendle Council

The Liberal Democrat and independent coalition that runs Pendle Council was split over the issue of election cancellation – with the Lib Dems opposed and their ruling partners in favour.  However, the independents won the day after a majority of Conservative councillors supported their position.

Responding to the government rethink, Lib Dem council leader David Whipp – while welcoming that elections would now go ahead – said that the phrase “headless chickens comes to mind”.

“[The government] really are a shambles,” he added.

Deputy council leader and independent group leader Asjad Mahmood was approached for comment.  He had said during a meeting of the full council at which he had argued that the May elections should not take place, that LGR was “time-consuming and resource-intensive” and required “effective management..to [deliver] a smooth and successful transition”.

Conservative group leader Ash Sutcliffe, one of the minority of Tory members who supported the scheduled election timetable, told the LDRS: “I’m happy that elections are going ahead and that people will get their anticipated democratic right, but I’m angry at the Labour government’s lack of direction causing instability and confusion for so many people.

“All that said, the Conservatives in Pendle are ready to fight any election as a good strong team,” Cllr Sutcliffe said.

Hyndburn Council

The Labour-run council’s cabinet agreed back in November to support postponement of the elections, with council leader Munsif Dad later saying the polls would have “increased pressure on council resources at a time when the priority must be a smooth transition to new local government structures”.

In response to the government’s change of mind, Cllr Dad said: “As previously stated, the decision regarding whether or not local government elections would go ahead in May was a decision for the government. We respect the decision now taken. The council will run the May 2026 local elections as normal.”

Burnley Council

The independent/Liberal Democrat/Green Party coalition in charge of the authority voted at an executive meeting last month to, as independent council leader Afrasiab Anwar described it, “reluctantly support the postponement” of this year’s local elections.  He said there should be “consistency” across Lancashire.

Cllr Anwar was approached for comment about the government’s rethink.

Blackburn with Darwen Council

The authority’s Labour leader Phil Riley told the LDRS in December – a month after the council’s executive board voted to scrap the elections in 2026 – that “having elections for a body which is going to disappear is, in my view, unnecessary”.

He added that there was also “a huge amount of work involved in LGR”.

Cllr Riley was approached by the LDRS for comment about the fact that the elections would now be going ahead.