Independents and Conservatives vote to postponse Pendle Council election in May

At an Extraordinary Council meeting held at Nelson Town Hall on Monday, councillors voted that Pendle Council should write to Government to request to postpone the May elections.

The decision related to the Government Reorganisation which refers to a change in how local councils are structured and how they deliver services.

However, the winning vote was met with anger by Liberal Democrat members on the council who had voted to keep the election.

Leader of the council, Liberal Democrat Coun. David Whipp, said he was disappointed in the Tories and independents who voted against his party’s motion, branding it “a denial of democracy”.

He said: “I'm desperately disappointed that Conservative and Independent councillors didn't back Liberal Democrat calls for voting to go ahead in May. There's no justification to cancel, and I’m hoping that the Government won't cancel them.

“It's a denial of democracy if they are cancelled. Accountability is crucial, we should be answerable to voters, cancellation undermines legitimacy of local decision-taking.

“Councillors elected in 2022 would serve six-year terms. There are no real capacity concerns in Pendle the council is multi-tasking all the time!

“Those arguing that money could be better spent are on thin ice - it’s a slippery slope once you begin to put a price on democracy. This is about face-saving, not money-saving.

“Cancellation will corrode confidence. Disenfranchising people will lead to greater disenchantment.

“In May, voters should have the chance to vote on our record, our plans and issues like Reform's care home closure plans. Above all, people should be allowed to vote.”

The local Reform UK group also objected to the decision but Pendle Council’s sole Refom councillor Marion Atkinson did not attend Monday’s meeting.

Mick Waddington, the chairman of Reform Pendle and Clitheroe, said: “This is the kind of thing you expect in failing states, not in a British borough council. When politicians start cancelling elections because they don’t like the result they’re about to get, democracy has already been vandalised.

“These councillors are terrified of the voters, terrified of Reform, and terrified of losing the grip they’ve had on power for too long. So instead of facing the public, they’ve stitched the system in their own favour. It’s shameless.

This is not leadership. It is cowardice. The councillors who voted for this measure appear to be clinging to office because they

know their time is running out. Rather than earning another mandate, they have chosen to deny residents the right to pass judgement at the ballot box. That is not democratic stewardship - it’s an abuse of power.

“When elected representatives suspend elections to avoid electoral consequences, democracy is no longer being defended; it is being hollowed out from within.

“Pendle deserves better than a council that treats voters as a threat to be managed rather than citizens to be served. The people of this borough have the right to choose their representatives - not when it suits the political class, but when the law and democratic norms demand it.”

The leader of the Pendle Independent Group of councillor, Coun. Asjad Mahmood has been approached for comment.