Written question asked by James McMurdock (Independent (affiliation)) on Friday, 2 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 6 January 2026. It was answered by Alison McGovern (Labour) on Monday, 12 January 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Local Government: Elections

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of deferring local elections on the long-term level of turnout.

Answer: We have not made such an assessment. It is only right that we listen to councils who are expressing concerns about their capacity to deliver a smooth and safe transition to new councils, alongside running resource-intensive elections to councils who may be shortly abolished. The Secretary of State has asked councils to set out their views on the postponement of their local elections and is minded to only make an Order to postpone elections for one year for those councils who raise capacity concerns. Previous governments have postponed local elections in areas contemplating and undergoing local government reorganisation to allow councils to focus their time and energy on the process.

Secondary information