Lancashire WILL go to the polls this year - 2026 local elections back on after government U-turn

The plug was pulled just last month on the seven polls that were due to take place in Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Preston and West Lancashire this May.

The government approved what it described as the “postponement” of the scheduled votes because of a forthcoming shake-up that will see all of the county’s councils – including those with elections this year – abolished in 2028.

However, local government secretary Steve Reed wrote to council leaders across Lancashire on Monday afternoon to advise them that voting would now go ahead in all districts in the county – and 23 others across England – where it had previously been planned.

The sudden switch came ahead of a legal challenge mounted by Reform UK which had been due to be heard at the High Court later this week.

In his letter, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr. Reed states: ”The Government has today written to the High Court setting out the following position:

‘The Secretary of State has decided to withdraw his decision to postpone the council elections of 30 local councils due to take place in May 2026 in the light of recent legal advice (for the avoidance of doubt no privilege is waived).

‘The Secretary State invited the housing minister, who was not involved in the initial decision-making, to reconsider the position afresh on a very urgent basis recognising the pressing timescales involved. The housing minister has decided that the elections should proceed in May 2026.

‘The Secretary of State will seek to agree an order with the Claimant in the light of this announcement disposing of the claim and will agree to pay the Claimant’s costs of these proceedings.’”

He added: “The Government can confirm that all local elections in May 2026 will now go ahead.”

The government has ordered the biggest council overhaul in England for more than 50 years, which will see all of Lancashire’s 15 main local authorities axed and replaced as part of a process known as local government reorganisation (LGR).

That means the elections that were due to take place for the existing authorities in 2026 would have been the last ever electoral contests for those councils.

Late last year, the government gave any council with an election scheduled for this May – and whose days were numbered because of the forthcoming changes – the chance to request that their polls were scrapped, pending elections to so-called’ shadow’ versions of the replacement councils due to be held in May 2027. They invited the authorities to outline any concerns they had about their capacity both to stage elections this year and carry out the work needed for LGR.

Requests were submitted in relation to all seven Lancashire councils with elections due in May 2026, against the backdrop of varying degrees of local political controversy.

In the cases of Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle and Preston, submissions were made on behalf of the authorities themselves after majority or unanimous votes of their full councils or cabinets. However, in West Lancashire, the call came from the ruling Labour group alone, as no council or cabinet vote was held.

The government agreed to all of the requests it received from Lancashire – although it only did so in Pendle after “further evidence” was submitted.

Mr. Reed said in his letter to leaders on Monday that an extra £63m in “capacity funding” would be provided to areas undergoing LGR, stating that he recognised many councils had “voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under as we seek to deliver the most ambitious reforms of local government in a generation”.

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