Local elections set to take place in 2026 despite plans to abolish councils two years later
Elections look set to go ahead in 2026, much to the joy of people who might do well and angst of those who might not do well
Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.
Will the elections be cancelled in 2026? Opinions seem to vary depending on which party you support. If they’re in the ascendancy, then it would be the absolute death of democracy. If they’re not (Labour), then it’s a complete waste of money to have them when those same councils will be abolished two years later.
As ever, most seem unable to look beyond the performance of their own party and their own position when giving their views. Why couldn’t this lot agree on local government reorganisation again? A mystery for another edition.
It looks like 2026 elections will go ahead, meaning a litmus test for Reform UK’s popularity in an area they already have power (Lancashire County Council being the upper tier authority despite no election next year) and for other parties too, most of whom struggled to do more than whimper amid the clamour for more Nige in May 2024.
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Lancashire briefing
🏠 Councillors have kicked out plans for a new housing estate on the outskirts of a Preston village – in spite of claims locals backed the development because of the new facilities that would come with it. Preston City Council’s planning committee rejected a bid by Wain Homes to build up 167 properties on land off James Towers Way in Broughton. Members ultimately agreed with the recommendation of city council planning officers that the proposal should be rejected, after hearing that it breached a local policy designed to ensure rural villages like Broughton remain separate from Preston’s urban core.
🍺 A petrol station and convenience store will be allowed to sell alcohol despite concerns over anti-social behaviour, safety and drink-driving. The Bowling Green Service Station on Scotforth Road, Lancaster, has been granted an off-premises licence by Lancaster City Council to sell alcohol, a council licensing officer said. A retail company called Ascona, which runs petrol stations with convenience stores nationwide, was behind the licence application. Lancaster City Council’s licensing sub-committee has granted approval at its latest meeting.
👃🏻 Planning permission has been granted for a new waste transfer station in Bacup, despite some fears about potential traffic problems and smells. Councillors on Rossendale’s development committee have approved a plan for the waste station at Futures Park. But during the planning meeting, Reform UK councillor Mackenzie Ritson claimed the proposal breached various policies. He also questioned whether the council and individual councillors had followed the right procedures and a code of conduct. His suggestions were rejected by councillors and top officers. And he was also accused of trying to ‘hijack’ the meeting and recommended to read the council rules.
Local elections set to take place in 2026 despite plans to abolish councils two years later
By Luke Beardsworth and Paul Faulkner
Local elections look set to take place in Lancashire next year - in spite of calls from four of the county’s councils to cancel them.
Speaking in the Commons, local government minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said the Labour administration would be “cracking on” with the polls scheduled for May 2026.
Her comments came after Blackburn with Darwen, Preston, Chorley and Hyndburn councils requested that the votes in their areas be scrapped.
The push to pull the plug came against the backdrop of a government-ordered shake-up that will see all 15 of Lancashire’s main councils abolished and replaced with a handful of new authorities – covering merged areas – in April 2028.
Elections to so-called ‘shadow’ versions of those new bodies will be held in May 2027 – prompting four of the seven Lancashire councils with polls set to be staged next year to suggest that they should be ditched.
The Labour-run authorities argued, variously, that the reorganisation and transition process required a period of political stability and that money could be saved by not holding final elections to councils whose days were numbered.
The counterpoint to this would be that it undermines the importance of democracy, although a 33.78% turnout in May’s local elections could call into question how passionate the public is about it.
During a parliamentary discussion last Thursday (4 December), Ms. Fahnbulleh said: “Local elections will go ahead in 2026 – that has been and continues to be our position.”
Both the current government and the previous Conservative administration have approved election cancellations in parts of the country that have been through the same overhaul now taking place in Lancashire – and the minister did still leave the door ajar to that possibility next year, adding:
“We are a responsible government, so if there are extenuating circumstances on the ground in particular councils, we will have that conversation with them.”
However, as reorganisation is happening in 21 counties across England, it would appear that ministers will require a case that goes behind that bare fact in order to agree to scrapping the planned votes.
One councillor believes that any elections will be an important litmus test of Reform UK’s ongoing popularity in areas where they have already been elected, given they are in control at Lancashire County Council.
Cllr Aidy Riggott, who represents Euxton, Buckshaw & Astley at County Hall for the Conservatives, told The Lancashire Lead that there is also no guarantee that local government reorganisation will be delivered on time.
He said: “The electorate should never be feared or hidden from - even if the decision they make isn’t the one you would hope for, or think is the correct one!
“I do recognise the arguments made about potential cost-savings, however given the lack of absolute certainty of the timing of Local Government Reorganisation in Lancashire, I think these are outweighed by the arguments for politicians seeking renewed and refreshed mandates from the electorate.
“Change is an inevitable part of local democracy, and there is no guarantee that there are not some councillors seeking to stand down or unable to commit to further years in serving their communities and a drip-drip of by-elections would quickly erode any savings made from cancelling elections.
“I also wish to take a moment to acknowledge Reform’s eagerness to contest next year’s local elections, even if recent results in Chorley, West Lancashire, Preston, Burnley (twice) and Pendle haven’t quite gone their way! I look forward to getting out there in the coming months, campaigning and supporting many excellent Conservative candidates.
“And we all will be watching how Reform describes their period in office at LCC with interest, especially now that the electorate in Lancashire has had time to assess their local performance.”
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