Local elections to GO AHEAD after Angela Rayner halts council reorganisation plans

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Plans to merge smaller councils to form larger authorities in Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk have been withdrawn

Angela Rayner's flagship plans to restructure English councils have been withdrawn as local elections are now set to go ahead next year.

Plans for reorganisation in Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk have been withdrawn in the light of new legal advice.

At least eight councils have launched legal challenges or were considering doing so due to opposition to the Government’s choice of footprints for new councils.

Reform UK-led Kent County Council is set to consider a judicial review at a meeting on Tuesday after it did not receive a response from the Government to a letter setting out concerns.

Decisions on 14 further areas will be reviewed and paused alongside cases for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and West Sussex, which are yet to have a decision confirmed.

The Government will also confirm that local elections in May 2027 will go ahead on existing council boundaries.

Almost 10,000 council seats will be up for grabs, with Labour looking to defend 1,200 in England alone.

It said it remains committed to effective and sustainable local government and simplifying these structures.

Communities Secretary Angela Rayner told Parliament today: "As we are now more determined than ever to devolve power closer to the people we represent, it’s only right that as a new Secretary of State I make sure that everything we do is working towards that plan to change Britain, without delay.

"The Prime Minister told the House last week he was ‘prepared to look at local government reorganisation’ and he asked me as his Communities Secretary to ‘do that’.

“In that context, in light of legal advice, I want to satisfy myself firstly that the right process is in place, that it is robust, and of course complies with the law.

“And, secondly, I want to fully test whether our proposals for local government reorganisation meet the priorities of a new administration and a new Prime Minister, and any additional considerations."

"I recognise the huge amount of work that has already gone into progressing reorganisation in each of these areas and I am very grateful for it."

MHCLG said reorganisation in Surrey will not be affected by the review and the two new unitary authorities, East and West Surrey, will still go ahead in April 2027.

Reform UK has claimed credit for the Government’s decision to halt the process, with the party leading county councils in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, which all launched legal challenges to reorganisation.

Reform leader Nigel Farage said: "Reform UK not only argued that this Government’s plans for local government reorganisation were an unmitigated disaster, but we once again put our money where our mouth is.

“Earlier this year we took on the Government and forced them to give the vote back to millions of people after Labour tried to cancel democracy.

“Now, thanks to our judicial reviews in affected Reform-led councils, the Government has backed down on their plans yet again.

“Only Reform had the backbone to stand up to these reckless plans. This is yet another embarrassing defeat for Labour. Only Reform backs real democracy."