Starmer abandons plans to cancel May council elections in latest U-turn

Government agrees to pay Reform UK’s legal costs in further humiliation for prime minister NewsUKUK PoliticsStarmer abandons plans to cancel May council elections in latest U-turnGovernment agrees to pay Reform UK’s legal costs in further humiliation for prime ministerMillie Cooke Political correspondent Monday 16 February 2026 20:08 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverWhat do local councils do?Your support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreSir Keir Starmer has abandoned plans to postpone elections across 30 councils this May after being warned it would be illegal, in yet another humiliating U-turn for the government. Local government secretary Steve Reed had previously approved proposals to delay the polls for more than 4.5 million people to help deliver a major reorganisation of local authorities.But on Monday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it was abandoning the plan in the face of “new legal advice” – a climbdown that has been claimed as a victory for Reform UK, which had launched a legal action against the government to challenge the proposed delay.In a further humiliation for the government, ministers have agreed to pay Reform’s legal costs relating to the party’s challenge.In a letter to council leaders, housing secretary Steve Reed suggested the government could offer “practical support” to local authorities after reversing the decision to postpone elections, as well as making £62m available to authorities undergoing structural changes. open image in galleryKeir Starmer has abandoned plans to postpone elections across 30 councils (PA)“I recognise that many of the local councils undergoing reorganisation voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under as we seek to deliver the most ambitious reforms of local government in a generation,” he said. In the wake of the climbdown, Mr Farage suggested Mr Reed should resign as he hailed the reversal of planned delays as a victory for Reform UK and “democracy in this country”.“What I do think now is the minister, Steve Reed, has clearly acted illegally, and given that the government’s now given in, knew they’d lose to us in court, I think Steve Reed’s position as a minister should now be debated,” the party leader told journalists on a visit to Romford.He added: “[It] seems to me that if a government minister does something illegal, they really ought to resign.”Asked if he should apologise for the potential cost to taxpayers of both footing the bill for legal fees and of holding the elections that had been due for postponement, Mr Farage said: “The idea I should apologise because it costs money to hold elections in a country where one-and-a-quarter million people died in two world wars so that we could be a free democracy, I won’t even begin to apologise.“That is our system. That is our way. We choose the people that represent us, tax us, make decisions on our behalf, and once every few years, we’ve the right to judge them and get rid of them. That is the very basis of how modern Britain works.”open image in galleryHousing secretary Steve Reed suggested the government could offer ‘practical support’ to local authorities after reversing the decision to postpone elections, as well as making £62m available to authorities undergoing structural changes (PA)The government also faced criticism from local authority leaders, with one accusing Sir Keir’s administration of “wasting everyone's time”. Conservative run Norfolk County Council (NCC), which last held elections in May 2021, is one of the 30 local authorities who were expecting to postpone their elections this year.The leader of NCC, councillor Kay Mason Billig said: “I note the government's change of mind on yet another decision it couldn't stick to – wasting everyone's time.”Meanwhile, the leader of Suffolk County Council, Matthew Hicks, said local authorities are “experiencing whiplash” from government decisions which make it “almost impossible” to plan effectively for residents. And a spokesperson for East Sussex County Council said the authority’s workload will “intensify” with the “adde