UK Scraps Plan to Delay Local Elections in Latest Labour U-Turn

The UK government abandoned plans to cancel local elections scheduled for May in 30 areas, after the move sparked a fierce backlash including a lawsuit from Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party.

“Following legal advice, the government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May,” the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said on Monday in a statement. “Providing certainty to councils about their local elections is now the most crucial thing and all local elections will now go ahead in May 2026.”