About 250 councillors could serve seven year terms in office, now English local election delays have been confirmed.
Nearly 30 councils will no longer hold elections this year due to a major reorganisation of local government, with some requesting a delay and others giving the government information about capacity that has led to a delay being granted.
Councillors in all 29 areas where a postponement has occurred will have their term extended, meaning they have the opportunity to continue in their roles until the next elections are held, which is expected to be in 2028.
Four of these are county councils, all Conservative-led, which last held elections four years ago in May 2021.
Councillors on those county councils will have the opportunity to serve the longest extended period of seven years – nearly twice the usual term in office.
These are the largest councils and there are 250 councillors in this position, with the largest group by far being the Conservatives with 154 councillors up for potential seven year terms.
Labour has 24 councillors who could now stay in post until 2028, the Lib Dems have 28, the Greens have 16, Reform eight and there are 20 councillors who are independent or part of a smaller group.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she thinks scheduled local elections should go ahead this May and has dismissed Conservative councils who have asked for postponements as local government is reorganised as “outliers”.
Speaking to broadcasters, Badenoch said a one year delay for reorganisation was “understandable” but two years is “just too long”.
“I think that [elections] should go ahead, that is Conservative Party policy,” she said.
“Two or three outlier councils are doing something different but that’s not party policy.”
Three Conservative-led councils have asked for election postponements and Badenoch said they have their own electoral mandate, adding: “The party that I run is not a dictatorship.”
The other 25 councils with postponed elections are district and borough councils, many of which held elections in 2022, although a small number were as recent as 2024.
There were 63 of 136 English councils eligible for a postponement due to the local government reorganisation, meaning council elections are expected to go ahead this year in 107 councils.
More than 650 councillors are affected by the postponements and will now stay in their roles for longer than expected.
Conservatives are the largest group of councillors who benefit from the delays, with 238 councillors staying in post.
Labour follow fairly closely with 206 councillors remaining in office, the Liberal Democrats have 81 councillors, Greens have 39, and Reform have 26.
Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party has seven councillors and there are 59 councillors who are independent or belong to another smaller independent party.
The decision to delay the democratic process for so many areas has been criticised by the Electoral Commission, which is the watchdog responsible for overseeing the running of elections in the UK.
“Scheduled elections should, as a rule, go ahead as planned, and only be postponed in exceptional circumstances,” said a spokeswoman.
“That was the position we set out before Christmas, and it has not changed.
“Nevertheless, the announcement from the government yesterday provides clarity for voters, campaigners and electoral administrators.
“We will now work with the electoral community to ensure they understand and can effectively manage the implications of these changes, while continuing to support those in areas where elections are still going ahead.”
But the government has insisted delays are needed to allow once-in-a-generation reforms to end the outdated two-tier system and build stronger local councils.
Steve Reed, the minister responsible for local government, said: “Cutting through two-tier bureaucracy means faster decisions on housing, simpler access to services, and more money going to potholes, tackling crime and caring for older people instead of being lost to duplication.
“That’s what residents want and that’s what reorganisation will achieve.”