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sir keir starmer His former local government minister has warned him he risks “losing confidence” After a huge uproar, Labor On proposals to postpone some mayoral elections.
Jim McMahonwho was dismissed sir keer In the September reshuffle, a move to push back four elections for new mayoral posts in Greater Essex, Hampshire and Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton by two years to 2028 was attacked.
As rival political parties lined up to criticize LaborHe told MPs: “We need to be better than this.”
The Labor Party has been accused of “canceling democracy” and claiming the move is an attempt to threaten Sir Kirlead a. Asked about the controversy by political journalists, Number 10 was also forced to deny that the Prime Minister was acting like a dictator over the decision.
But Labor has said More time is needed to complete the restructuring of local government. The delayed elections will now be fought under a more proportional electoral system, making it difficult Nigel FarageReform UK will win. The latest survey by More in Common again has Reform on 30 per cent, nine points ahead of Labor and the Tories, both on 21.
The ministers had hoped that the decision would be kept secret through a written statement, but they were forced to come to the House and answer an important question.
Mr McMahon, who is the Labor MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton and was the local government minister who organized the elections, told the government: “I need to be clear, as I usually do. We need to be better than this.
“Local leaders from all political parties acted in good faith. They put aside self-interests and differences and did everything that was asked of them to ensure a better solution for the people they represent.
“They rightly expected the government to do the same. The elections that were postponed last year, which led to these mayoral elections, were agreed upon, consultations were held, legal tests were completed, funding was confirmed, all with legislation in place for the May 26 poll date.”
He said Labor and other parties had already selected their candidates.
He warned: “The government had a moral and legal obligation to honor its side of the bargain. Following a statutory process, everyone involved had a reasonable expectation that these elections would be held, and the government knows that trust is hard won, but easily lost.”
Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice described the Labor ministers’ decision as “cowardly”.
“It is usually dictators who cancel elections. About 75 lakh people will now be deprived of the opportunity to vote in the mayor elections,” he said.
“This is not strange, we have just announced our mayoral candidates for all these areas and suddenly the government, afraid of losing in Reform, is canceling them.”
He said the two-year delay was “the deliberate cancellation of democracy in the United Kingdom is dictatorial and we must not tolerate it”.
Asked whether it was appropriate for the Prime Minister to act like a dictator in canceling the election, Number 10 said “No”.
Speaking in the House, Mr Faraz described the reforms as a “dog’s dinner”.
He said: “There is clearly no reason why they cannot go ahead in 2026, although I know the local Conservative administration is strongly opposed to this.”
Secretary of Shadow Communities james cleverly Has described this decision as “the destruction of democracy”.
Responding to the government postponing elections in some areas to next year amid fears of huge losses, Local Government Minister Miyata Fahnbulla told MPs that Labor is “as ready for the election as anyone else”.
However, he said that elections for the four combined regions would be held in May 2028, so “the regions have the opportunity to finish the restructuring of their local government”.
Ms Fanbouleh also announced a £200m annual funding pot to be divided between six regions across England. This amount will be paid every year for the next 30 years.
Responding to an urgent question in the House of Commons, he said: “Council elections will be held in 2026; that has been our position, that will continue to be our position. As a responsible government, you would expect that if there are extenuating circumstances on the ground in particular councils, we would engage with them. We are as prepared for elections as anyone else.”
He said: “This is about our commitment to devolution. This is about building strategic officers and mayors who can unlock the economic potential of their areas and deliver for their communities. That will always be our guiding star. That will always be our role model.”
Meanwhile, the chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) said it is “not appropriate to tinker and make changes” to the mayoral election timeline.
LGIU chief executive, Jonathan Carr-West, said: “It is disappointing that these important steps are accompanied by such drastic changes without any preparation or consultation with those who will be directly affected.
“The Government has set out a clear and ambitious timetable for devolution, until this week, they were insisting it was still on track. Councils have moved mountains to meet every single deadline presented to them. Many will be wondering what has changed.
“Today’s ministerial statement still contains too many phrases such as ‘mind to’ or ‘as soon as possible’ – the Government must set out a clear plan and stick to it.”