Overview
- Norwich City Council’s Labour cabinet is due to decide on January 14 whether to seek a delay, with the officers’ report still unpublished.
- The government has asked councils to submit requests by January 15, with final ministerial decisions expected early this year on pushing polls to 2027.
- GB News reports 29 councils have either announced delays or not yet decided, including 21 run by Labour, while most are still expected to proceed in May.
- Labour-run Preston, Chorley, Hyndburn and Blackburn with Darwen have already opted to postpone, drawing criticism from Greens, Reform UK, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
- The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government calls the wider claims premature, says councils are best placed to judge capacity, and cites 2019–2021 as precedent for election deferrals during reorganisation.