Local Government Secretary Steve Reed (Image: Getty)
Labour has been accused of putting the public at risk by delaying elections for six million people. Conservatives claimed the Government was abolishing democracy “to avoid embarrassment at the ballot box” because it feared humiliating defeats.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed has cancelled mayoral elections planned for May 7, with polls now expected in 2028 instead. He is sticking by the decision despite a U-turn over plans to postpone 30 local council elections, also due this May, which are now going ahead following a legal challenge by Reform. Four new regional mayors, covering Greater Essex, Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the Solent, and Norfolk and Suffolk, will serve more than six million people between them.
Their responsibilities include overseeing local police forces, and they will replace existing Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs).
Conservatives have written to the Government warning that delaying the vote “puts communities’ safety at risk”. Under the original plan, there would have been a handover period with mayors and PCCs working together. But the delay means that mayors are set to take office on the same day that PCCs are abolished.
The letter from Conservative PCCs said it meant there would be no “proper and orderly handover period”.
Donna Jones, mayoral candidate and PCC for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said: “Labour’s cowardly delay of the mayoral elections has caused chaos for councils, confusion for voters, and withheld critical economic growth for Hampshire and beyond.”
She added: “With no safety net now in place, newly elected mayors will need to be ready to take on the important responsibilities for policing and public safety on day one of the job.
“Labour are sacrificing people’s democratic rights, their safety, and potential prosperity in order to avoid embarrassment at the ballot box.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We are reorganising local government so it is more efficient and effective for taxpayers. Devolution is key to giving power back to communities but works best on strong foundations.
“Holding elections in May 2028 gives these areas, which are all streamlining their councils, time to finish reorganising, so mayors can hit the ground running and give communities what they need from day one. Oversight of policing will be transferred to mayors or elected council leaders with local Policing and Crime Boards driving better join up across public services.”
