One thing that’s been missing from the debate around the English devolution bill is what this change will mean for town and parish councils (More than 20 England council elections likely to be delayed until 2027, 15 January). As combined authorities start to form, it is these hyperlocal councils that will be taking the lead in shaping solutions that are genuinely rooted in place and driven by the people who live there.
At Lewes town council, the conversations we are having focus on how these changes could be an opportunity for the town. Sussex is one of the six counties on the government’s priority programme for establishing a combined authority. As the possibility of a more unified county structure edges closer, we are having to think imaginatively about the future. That means exploring how residents can lead discussions on creating truly community‑led and place‑based solutions to the most local issues.
With the future of local elections still uncertain, this is a chance to engage with your most local decision-makers. If communities want town and parish councils that truly reflect their needs and ambitions, now is the time to help shape them.
Veronique Poutrel
Town clerk, Lewes town council, East Sussex
• Depriving people of their right to elect their local councillors for several years, pending the establishment of new unitary authorities, is definitely undemocratic, but might possibly be justifiable if the existing councils were all doing a competent job. But allowing councils that are notorious for being inefficient, unresponsive and unaccountable to their constituents to continue to run their counties for years after their term of office has ended, unelected and without a mandate, is not justifiable.
In East Sussex, the May 2025 local elections were cancelled, the mayoral elections have been postponed until 2028, and the county council, at the invitation of the government, has opted to postpone its own election due in May. The unelected county councillors will now have the lead responsibility in shaping its replacement, if any. Will we ever get another election?
Sue Carroll
Rodmell, East Sussex
• Given Reform UK’s objections to cancelling local elections on the grounds of defending democracy, surely Nigel Farage should be demanding byelections in constituencies where MPs have defected to his party?
Dr Richard Simmons
Chatham, Kent
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