A date has been set for Reform UK’s legal challenge against Labour’s decision to cancel Local Elections impacting four million Britons that had been scheduled for May 7.
It has now been announced that a full hearing on the matter has been agreed for February 19 and 20.
If successful, the elections will go ahead as originally planned in just over 100 days’ time.
The Prime Minister has faced intense scrutiny over the delay on the plebiscites, ostensibly to allow time for the local authorities to undergo reorganisation.
However, a poll by JL Partners revealed last week that Nigel Farage’s party would have won in 20 councils where elections are set to be cancelled.
Meanwhile, Labour majorities on 10 councils have been tipped to be wiped out.
Reacting to the news, 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.”
The date has been set for Reform’s court hearing against cancelling local elections
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In permitting the hearing, the judge stipulated that any council or political party seeking to join the proceedings as an interested party must submit their application by January 30.
Nearly four million voters across southern and eastern England could find themselves unable to cast ballots as a consequence of the proposed postponements.
Of the 28 local authorities that have applied to push back their May contests, 22 are controlled by Labour.
Sir Keir’s Government has argued that councils undergoing significant restructuring as part of plans to replace the two-tier system of county and district councils with new unitary authorities need the flexibility to delay.
‘Labour are disgracefully trying to deny democracy. We are determined to win this case next month’ Reform slammed
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However, the Electoral Commission has raised doubts about whether this reasoning meets the threshold of “exceptional circumstances” required to justify such postponements.
Ministers announced last month that 63 councils would be offered the option to defer elections until 2027, with the new local government structures expected to become operational in 2028.
Darren Jones, the Prime Minister’s Chief Secretary, defended the postponement plans on Tuesday, arguing that proceeding with elections would prove wasteful given the impending council restructuring.
“We’re not frightened of democracy,” Mr Jones said. “Councils themselves were able to request a delay, a short delay, to their elections, if they’re going through a reorganisation. And a number of councils have asked for that.”
He emphasised that the initiative came from local authorities rather than being imposed centrally.
Mr Jones added: “But the key point here is that if a council is reorganising, you don’t want to go through a costly set of elections for a number of councillors and then have to redo it five minutes later because you’ve changed the boundaries of the council.”
The Bristol MP also acknowledged frustration with the three-year timeline for completing the reorganisation, citing constitutional changes, financial systems and employment contracts as factors requiring the extended period.
However, Reform UK has vowed to continue its legal battle against what it describes as an assault on democratic principles.