Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party will legally challenge attempts by the governing left-wing Labour Party to cancel local elections this May in an apparent bid to stymie the rising populist party.
Nearly four million voters are facing the prospect of having their voices stifled this year, as 28 local councils have applied to delay elections scheduled for May.
The councils have argued that they do not have time to hold elections this year, as they are in the process of restructuring how council governments operate. However, opposition parties have accused the councils of using the planned restructurings as an excuse to hang on to power.
Indeed, a JL Partners survey last week found that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party would have won 20 councils, including ten controlled by the governing Labour Party. Overall, the left-wing party has applied to delay elections in 22 councils, according to The Telegraph.
The upstart party was given some hope on Tuesday, with High Court judge Justice Chamberlain ruling that a full hearing on the matter was warranted and that one will be held next month between February 19 and 20.
In comments provided to Breitbart London, a Reform UK spokesman said: “We said we would fight Labour every step of the way on this and we are doing so. Labour are disgracefully trying to deny democracy. We are determined to win this case next month.”
Reform MP Sarah Pochin said that the postponement of votes of 3.7 million people would represent an “unprecedented and deeply worrying assault on our democracy that should alarm anyone who believes in free and fair elections.”
The Runcorn & Helsby lawmaker also cited previous commitments from government ministers to “crack on” with the council elections this year, quipping that it therefore represented yet another “U-turn” from Labour.
Head of policy for Reform, Zia Yusuf, added: “Reform will defend democracy against this authoritarian government and its Tory enablers. Let the people vote.”
Such arguments have apparently convinced the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who reportedly said in a letter leaked to ITV that while he understands the arguments for postponing elections, he does “not believe in cancelling elections and personally believe[s] that the local elections on May 2026 should take place.”
Regardless, the local elections — complete or not — are set to be a major litmus test for Prime Minsiter Sir Keir Starmer, whose approval rating has cratered since winning a strong majority in the 2024 general election. Should the party suffer heavy defeats in May, there could be leadership challenges against the PM as the party prepares to face Brexit boss Nigel Farage at the 2029 general election.
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