Starmer crumbles as Reform blocks "anti-democratic" election ban

Sir Keir Starmer has been forced into a high-profile constitutional retreat, abandoning controversial plans to cancel local elections for 4.5 million voters after Nigel Farage launched a decisive High Court challenge. The Government confirmed on Monday that it will revoke secondary legislation...

Reported from court

16 February 2026 at 14:01Updated 1 April 2026 at 01:163 min read

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Sir Keir Starmer has been forced into a high-profile constitutional retreat, abandoning controversial plans to cancel local elections for 4.5 million voters after Nigel Farage launched a decisive High Court challenge.

The Government confirmed on Monday that it will revoke secondary legislation intended to postpone polls in 30 council areas, including several key battlegrounds where Labour was predicted to suffer significant losses to Reform UK.

Ministers had originally claimed the delays were necessary to facilitate a radical "restructuring" of local government, but the department reportedly received urgent legal advice warning that the move would likely be ruled illegal in court.

Local Government Secretary Steve Reed, who previously insisted the move was "not denying democracy," has now written to council leaders confirming that all elections on 7 May 2026 will proceed as originally scheduled.

In a 353-word letter, Reed announced an additional £63 million in "capacity funding" to support the 21 areas undergoing reorganisation, an attempt to mitigate the administrative pressure cited as the original justification for the delay.

Nigel Farage hailed the U-turn as a "victory for democracy," claiming the Prime Minister had attempted to "collude" with the Conservatives to disenfranchise nearly five million people in a bid to avoid a wipeout at the ballot box.

The Reform UK leader’s legal team was prepared to argue that postponing elections in peacetime without a national crisis was "patently irrational" and a direct violation of fundamental individual rights.

The climbdown follows a "mega-poll" from JL Partners suggesting that the 30 councils in question could see Labour lose 93 seats, while Reform UK is projected to gain at least 129 additional councillors.

Target areas for Farage’s party now include Thurrock, Basildon, and Harlow, while Labour faces a defensive battle to maintain control of authorities such as Blackburn & Darwen, Preston, and Exeter.