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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent

English councils face ‘race against time’ to arrange elections, leaders say

A wet day at a polling station.
A wet day at a polling station. Elections at 30 councils will now go ahead on 7 May 2026. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Councils are experiencing “whiplash” and face an “unnecessary race against time” to organise ballots after the government abandoned plans to delay 30 council elections in England, local authority leaders have said.

Ministers had wanted to delay elections at councils undergoing major reorganisation, with many set to be merged or subsumed into others, but faced a legal challenge from Reform UK, which argued the delay was undemocratic.

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