Keir Starmer has been accused of running “scared” from voters yet again, after Labour moved to cancel yet more elections for millions of voters next year. Councils in areas where Reform is expected to storm to power at next May’s local elections have been asked by ministers whether they would like to delay their vote into the future, and most are expected to take up the offer.

Local Government Secretary Steve Reed had previously ruled out delaying any county council elections next year. Votes in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hampshire and West Sussex had already been delayed from this year to 2026, however are now likely to face a further delay to 2027. Most of these delays will be in Tory-controlled areas where Reform is expected to put on a very strong showing.

It comes shortly after the Government already delayed expected mayoral elections next year, prompting accusations that Sir Keir Starmer is behaving like a “dictator” in response to his tanking poll ratings.

The excuse is pegged on the government reorganising a swathe of local authority areas from two-tier districts into unitary authorities, and arguing it makes little sense to hold elections to councils that will theoretically be abolished shortly thereafter.

Responding to today’s reported delay, the Tories’ Sir James Cleverly accused Labour of running “scared from the voters”.

He blasted: “Labour promised council elections would go ahead as planned as recently as last week. Now they’re saying they won’t. Another broken promise. Voters will now be denied the right to elect their own representatives – and not for the first time under this Labour Government.

“Labour are scared of the voters. They thought they could completely overhaul local government and stack the deck in their favour. They were wrong. Earlier this month, Labour cancelled mayoral elections and now they are at it again with council elections, fiddling the democratic process to serve their own political interests.

“It cannot be right that some elected representatives will now be serving seven year terms. The Electoral Commission warned the Government that elections should not be delayed by more than a year, but that has clearly fallen on deaf ears. Labour pushed these changes through at an unrealistic pace and are now blaming local leaders for not being ready.

“Labour talk a good game about empowering communities but they have shown their true colours with their top-down approach to local government and their disdain for local democracy. Only the Conservatives will ensure residents get a fair deal.”

However Nigel Farage slammed the Tories, and demanded that Kemi Badenoch instruct Conservative council leaders to allow elections to go ahead.

The Reform UK leader blasted: “Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas. Tory County Councils look set to collude with Labour to keep their control until 2027.

“Only a banana republics ban elections, that’s what we have under Starmer.”

In October, a senior Tory cabinet minister on Essex County Council appeared to suggest they were delaying elections over the fear of “untested” politicians sweeping to power, an apparent admission they fear being ousted by Reform.

Cllr John Spence, the council cabinet member for adult social care and children’s services, said: “In terms of the risk of political change, I think we could all see that if there were to be elections next year, there would be a chance in the current political climate, you could have an administration come in with completely untested councillors responsible.

“That is very clearly an enormous risk as to the complexity of the work we’re undertaking. So it is a real risk and I hope that the government are thinking considerably.

“While I’m a great believer in democracy, the risks of political leadership change over the next two years are huge. Now, fortunately, we have great officers. But if they were then given the wrong political direction or a different set of political priorities became paramount after May 2026, I would be deeply worried.”

A fortnight ago the government confirmed that voters in Essex, Hampshire, Sussex, Brighton, Norfolk and Suffolk would no longer be getting a vote on their new metro mayors in 2026.

Instead the vote will be delayed until 2028, with ministers blaming delays to their local council reorganisations.

A number of polling and election companies predicted that Reform UK were on course to win every single one of the mayoral elections.

Some of May’s local elections this year (2025) were postponed by a year in areas of southern England under plans to radically reorganise councils and roll out further devolution.

Reform’s head of policy Zia Yusuf said: “This is a blatant attempt to stop big Reform wins next May. It’s an act of a desperate government who are clinging onto power by any means necessary.

“Labour has proven time and time again that they’re not beyond denying democracy to millions of people in order to maintain their cosy status quo.”