Keir Starmer Backs Down: Local Elections in England to Proceed as Planned

The Labour Party government announced a significant U-turn in domestic policy, abandoning plans to postpone local elections in 30 districts of England. Initially, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities planned to halt May elections to facilitate a broad administrative reform. This decision met immediate political and legal resistance, particularly from the Reform UK party, which accused the cabinet of anti-democratic actions. Government lawyers, after reanalysis, admitted that attempting to forcibly cancel a democratic vote could be deemed illegal by the courts. The withdrawal from the reform affects over 4.5 million voters who will ultimately go to the polls in May 2026. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage declared this outcome a major victory for his party and proof of the current administration's weakness. Critics point out that this is another recent "U-turn" by Starmer's government, which could negatively impact the prime minister's image as a decisive and consistent politician. Local councils affected by the change must now urgently resume suspended preparations for the logistical handling of the voting. The local government system in the United Kingdom is based on cyclical partial elections, meaning that voting for local bodies takes place in different regions of the country each year. This mechanism aims to ensure continuous public oversight of power, but frequent changes in district boundaries are sometimes used to attempt manipulation of the electoral calendar.Experts emphasize that the government's capitulation opens the way for opposition parties to exploit growing dissatisfaction with Labour's policies. This situation is particularly beneficial for Reform UK, which is building its political capital by contesting London's decisions. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, led by <przypis title=