Prime Minister Keir Starmer has abandoned plans to postpone local elections for councils in May in yet another U-turn for the government. Source: Independent

Labour had initially announced plans to cancel elections in 30 areas this year, impacting 4.5 million people, in order to free up “capacity” to undertake an overhaul of council structures.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) spokesperson said: “Following legal advice, the Government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.

“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.”

The news was welcomed by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who said “we took this Labour government to court and won.”