Reform UK’s Head of Local Government Delivery has declared that his party has “won” following Keir Starmer’s major local election U-turn.
Speaking to GB News, Ben Bradley celebrated the Prime Minister’s decision to abandon plans to cancel local elections for millions of voters, planned for May 7.
Labour had approved postponing polls in 30 local authorities, citing the Ministry of Housing & Local Government’s restructuring of councils.
However, ministers today confirmed the legislation would be revoked after the department received legal advice warning that the potential postponement could be deemed “illegal”.
Reacting to the decision, Mr Bradley told GB News: “We’ve won, which is fantastic. I think the pressure from Reform has played a huge part in this decision.
“Clearly, they didn’t think this was going to stand up in court later this week and they’ve made that decision early.”
Expressing joy on behalf of the millions of Britons who now can have their say, he added: “It’s great news for millions of residents who were not going to be able to have their say.
“If there are pressures on local Government in terms of holding elections and resources and everything, it’s because of decisions that the Government has made, and people have a right to have their say and make their voice heard on that.”
Ben Bradley has celebrated Keir Starmer’s decision to abandon delayed local elections
|
GB NEWS / PA
Asking Mr Bradley about the planned legal action by Reform leader Nigel Farage before the U-turn, host Tom Harwood asked if the grounds for that action were mainly due to Reform’s “chances of winning”.
Mr Bradley agreed: “Yeah, Reform’s going to win, and that’s why the Government have had that legal advice and changed that early. I don’t think the grounds are too difficult to understand.
“Inevitably, we live in a democracy, the home of democracy, arguably. These elections have been slated, particularly in those areas where they’ve already been cancelled last year, they’ve been cancelled again. That’s unprecedented. And this is not a country that should be known for those kinds of actions, for cancelling elections, for cancelling residents’ voices.
“And there is very little reason that you can see from central Government’s perspective other than they think they’re going to lose, particularly in those areas that were cancelled, Reform was set to do and will now, I hope, do really well in those places.”
Keir Starmer appears to have performed his 14th U-turn as PM | GETTY
Questioned by host Nana Akua on where he believes the latest U-turn leaves Sir Keir Starmer in terms of his strength as Prime Minister, Mr Bradley told GB News: “I mean, there are some running themes here, aren’t there?
“To point at people and talk about people being fascist whilst scrapping jury trials, cancelling elections, all the things you would expect from those kinds of Governments, and at the same time, as you say, marching people up the hill, so I’m marching them back down again.
“I’ve been there, Government sending MPs out to defend the indefensible, and then how awful you feel and how ridiculous you feel when the Government then backtracks and makes you look a fool.
“That’s happened over and over again. And after a while, people just stop going out and defending it because they don’t trust that that line’s going to hold a day or two days later.”
Mr Bradley told GB News that Keir Starmer’s U-turns are becoming a ‘running theme’ of his Government
|
GB NEWS
Responding to Sir Keir’s 15th major U-turn, Mr Farage hailed Reform UK’s victory over the Labour Government on social media.
The Reform UK leader said: “We took this Labour Government to court and won. In collusion with the Tories, Keir Starmer tried to stop 4.6 million people voting on May 7. Only Reform UK fights for democracy.”
In a statement, a Government spokesman said: “Following legal advice, the Government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.
“Providing certainty to councils about their local elections is now the most crucial thing and all local elections will now go ahead in May 2026.”