Labour councils ask to cancel 2026 local elections

Two councils have voted to request the cancellation of the local elections that are due to take place in May.

Stevenage and Welwyn Hatfield borough councils said they had taken the decision so they could prepare for the planned local government reorganisation.

Both councils, along with the rest of the authorities in Hertfordshire, are set to be replaced by unitary authorities in 2028.

Stevenage's Liberal Democrat opposition described the decision there as "cowardly, unjustified and wrong".

The existing councils in Hertfordshire are due to be abolished as part of the government's reorganisation of the way local services are run.

They will be replaced by up to four new unitary authorities by 2028.

Last month, the government said some councils across England had asked if their 2026 elections could be delayed because of the pressure of preparing for local government reform.

Ministers offered 63 councils, including those in Hertfordshire, the chance to request postponement.

The ruling cabinet at Stevenage borough, where a third of the council seats are due to be contested in May, has voted to ask for the 2026 poll to be scrapped.

The leader of the Labour-run council, Richard Henry, said: "It is the option that best protects local services, finances and our responsibilities to the town as we navigate local government reorganisation over the next two years."

He pointed out that elections were held for all council seats in the borough in 2024, so the councillors whose seats were scheduled for elections in 2026 would only have served for two years.

Andy McGuinness, the leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition, said the decision in Stevenage was "cowardly, unjustified and wrong".

"Liberal Democrats vehemently oppose this decision which can only be described as a betrayal of local people's democratic right to vote and choose their local representation."

In Welwyn Hatfield, the full council decided on Thursday night that the election should go ahead, but the ruling cabinet took the opposite view.

The four Labour members voted for the cancellation - outnumbering the three Lib Dems on the cabinet.

If the requests for the 2026 elections to be cancelled are granted, the next opportunity for people in Hertfordshire to vote will be the poll for the new councils in 2027.

The Electoral Commission has said cancelling the 2026 polls "risks damaging public confidence".

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