English local elections postponed for a year

The government has announced that local and mayoral elections in England will be postponed for a year until May 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Polls were due in 118 English councils, the London Assembly and for seven English regional mayors, with voting also due to take place for the London mayor and police and crime commissioners in England and Wales.

However, Downing Street has said it would be impractical to hold the elections as planned, as they would come during the peak of the spread of the virus. The Cabinet Office said it would be bringing forward legislation to enact the elections delay in England, and would ensure the Welsh authorities had the same powers.

Acting Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the move to delay the polls was the ‘right decision’, while Labour had campaigned for a delay, adding it had ‘serious concerns’ about the welfare of party staff and members. The decision to delay the polls was also backed by the Association of Electoral Administrators.

The Electoral Commission had recommended a delay until the Autumn, and has expressed surprise that the government has instead opened for a year delay.

James Jamieson, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “The LGA has been raising a number of issues with government including the possible impact of coronavirus on local elections. The swift decision is very helpful. Councils will now continue to put all of their efforts into supporting their local communities as the nation tackles COVID-19.”

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU), said: “We welcome the government’s announcement today to postpone the local elections due to take place in May. While we regret this scenario, it’s clearly the right decision. The LGiU along with many across the sector have called for this measure due to fears about capacity to deliver in the midst of a public health crisis.

“Of course this does raise difficult questions and it’s important that the Government moves quickly to answer these: what will happen where councilors were due to stand down? What will happen in new authorities that were due to be elected for the first time (like the new councils in Northamptonshire)? What about vacant seats and by-elections? Elections are a vital part of democracy, but they are not the whole of it. We need elections, but they have to run flawlessly and electoral services in councils across this country have a fantastic record of making that happen. If we can’t guarantee that elections can be delivered securely, safely and accurately. It’s better to postpone and decisive action was needed earlier rather than later.”