A pensioner who has been withholding his council tax payments in protest of the local election delay has told GB News he is “delighted” at Labour’s U-turn.
Speaking to host Alex Armstrong, David Elliott declared his “vindication” at Sir Keir Starmer’s abandonment of the plans.
Following Reform UK’s judicial review against the delay, Local Government Secretary Steve Reed today confirmed the U-turn.
Calling on Mr Reed to “resign” over the decision, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told GB News: “It’s a legal victory. It’s a victory for our party, but above all, it’s a victory for freedom and democracy.
“They knew they were going to lose in the High Court, and that’s why I’m saying I think for the minister, Steve Reed, frankly, is this not a resignation matter?”
Asked by Alex whether he feels “vindicated” by the decision, Mr Elliott told GB News: “Absolutely. I’m delighted that they’ve finally taken yet another U-turn and restored some democracy.”
Revealing why he chose to withhold his council tax payments, he explained: “I just felt I wasn’t and that democracy wasn’t really represented properly.
“Because the people that are in council right now have been there for so long that we need to replace them with fresh people that I have voted for.”
Pensioner David Elliott has told GB News he feels ‘vindicated’ after Keir Starmer’s local election U-turn
|
PA / GB NEWS
Heaping praise on Reform UK for getting the plans overturned, Mr Elliott said: “Of course I’m looking forward to casting my vote now, snd I appreciate Reform’s actions, I very much do.
“But I also like to think that people like myself and other people have also influenced this decision as well.”
Questioned by Alex on whether he supports the devolution plans for local authorities, the pensioner told GB News: “I’m not quite sure what the implications are. I don’t study politics and the likes too deeply, so I don’t really know quite what effect it would have on me.
“But things seem to be running reasonably well as they were, so I don’t know why there’s a necessity for devolution.”
Nigel Farage has called for Steve Reed to resign over Labour’s local election U-turn | GB NEWS
Hitting out at the Government’s decision to delay the elections due to the devolution plans, Mr Elliott fumed: “It was cultural nonsense.
“It was deliberately done to prevent people like me from revolting, voting for a party that I want to represent me.”
In a letter confirming the U-turn today, Mr Reed wrote: “The Government can confirm that all local elections in May 2026 will now go ahead.
“I recognise that many of the local councils undergoing reorganisation voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under as we seek to deliver the most ambitious reforms of local government in a generation.
Mr Elliott told GB News that blaming the delays on local council devolution was ‘cultural nonsense’
|
GB NEWS
“I am therefore announcing today that we will provide up to £63million in additional capacity funding to the 21 local areas undergoing reorganisation across the whole programme, building on the £7.6million provided for developing proposals last year.
“I will shortly set out further details about how that funding will be allocated.”
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.”