“I thought that only dictators cancelled elections but what I see today is collusion to stave off the threat of Reform UK on May 1”.  

At a quick glance, you might mistake this quote for the much mis-translated line from Plato’s The Republic, rather than it being Reform’s Nigel Farage reaction to the news that six county council elections that were due to be held in May have been cancelled. 

Elections in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Thurrock, Surrey, East and West Sussex, the Isle of Wight and Hampshire will not take place in May. As a result, over 5 million people will no longer have the opportunity to vote as planned. Whilst Labour made clear their ambitions to reorganise local government when they came to power last summer, Farage claims that Labour and the Conservatives colluded to ensure that there are no elections in the areas where Reform were due to perform well in, such as those in the East of England.  

I don’t for one minute believe that there is a conspiracy theory against Reform, but there are concerns about this process that should be aired in this debate. Having previously overseen local election campaigns, I know firsthand that there are not many voters who know exactly what each level of local government actually does, so anything to simplify this should be welcomed. With planning in mind, widening the scope of local areas should help with the allocation of new settlements, however, devolution does normally mean putting power in the hands of those most local to an issue or area rather than at a higher level. 

My biggest concern is how quickly these changes are happening and the knock-on impact around democracy. Those chosen to be in the first tranche of the devolution roll out now have to agree exactly what the new set ups look like by November, with the new Mayors and potentially “shadow” councillors being elected in May 2026. There is a chance that by the time everything is formally in place, there will be some Councillors who end up serving a seven-year term after first being elected in 2021, back when Boris Johnson was Prime Minister. 

Those areas who missed out on devolution plans this time around will have another chance to be part of the process in future years. The short-term focus should be on what this decision means for those elections taking place this May. An unintended consequence to keep an eye out for will be where the volunteers and funding that was due to be spent in the now cancelled elections will be redistributed to.  

Hertfordshire has produced a number of shock election results in recent years. With elections in nearby Essex and Suffolk now cancelled, we could see additional support from the various political parties sent to Hertfordshire which may impact some of the results. This is something that is likely to be replicated across the country. 

For those political nerds who were worried that election night wouldn’t be the same this year, think again!