Nigel Farage has said delaying local council elections this year would be an “act of cowardice” in a furious attack against a controversial plan from Labour and Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Farage argued that his party has got “momentum” that could shake up local councils up and down the country this year, but this is at risk of being lost if they are delayed.
According to a BBC report, half of the county councils that are due to hold their elections in May could ask them to be delayed in order to work through major local government reforms that Labour announced in December.
The 14 out of 21 county councils this refers to are trying to take action over the devolution plans and argue they need more time to properly implement them.
The Reform UK leader hit back at this, calling any attempt to push back local elections a “disgrace” and “a denial of democracy”.
He told the Express: “It’s an act of pure cowardice. It’s a denial of democracy. The whole thing’s a disgrace.
“These are Conservative councils latching onto Labour’s radical plans for local government, and they know they’re really really going to get a tough time from Reform.
“And I think they want to keep their jobs. They want to keep their money. And they’re saying it might take until 2028 for these changes to come. Well that’s almost the next full term.
“We’ve got momentum, but the whole of British politics is in a state of change the likes of which I’ve not seen in my lifetime.”
Labour’s plans, which may not be implemented for years, would see smaller district councils merged with large county councils to create a single authority that handles all services.
This is a key part of the government’s plan to devolve powers out of Westminster. Local government minister Jim McMahon wrote to the affected councils in December, calling for them to get on board with the scheme.
However, it’s facing increasing backlash as the local elections loom and several councils have been forced to hold urgent meetings to decide whether to go ahead as normal.
The final decision on whether a local council election will be postponed comes down to ministers, and the government’s website maintains that all will be going ahead as planned.
It reads: “Elections this year will be going ahead as planned and we will only consider postponing elections for areas where the council concerned have requested it, and where after careful consideration, it will help an area to deliver reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeline.”