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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Nadeem Badshah

Local elections face further delays as councils struggle to reorganise in time

A signpost shows the way to a polling station
Sixty-three council areas will be consulted on whether they should postpone local elections until 2027. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock

Local elections could be delayed again as merging councils lack the capacity for reorganisation, the government has announced, triggering claims from opposition parties that Labour is “scared of the voters”.

Sixty-three council areas could opt to postpone elections until 2027 after some were already delayed until May 2026 as two-tier authorities are being combined into single unitary councils.

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