The government has confirmed mayoral elections in Sussex and Brighton will be delayed by two years until 2028.
Critics have suggested the move looks suspicious amid speculation about a potential challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership following defeat at the local elections, with Reform UK accusing Labour of a “blatant attempt to stop big wins” for the party.
This morning, minister for devolution Miatta Fahnbulleh MP announced Sussex would get an annual £38 million investment fund to spend on areas such as transport and planning.
She said: “This money will help transform communities for the better as part of our Plan for Change.
“It will help new mayors achieve what their areas’ want most, from building more of the 1.5 million homes this government has promised to improving the green spaces that locals love – this is how devolution improves lives across the country.”
Meanwhile, children’s minister Josh MacAlister insisted the decision was because of “technical” changes being made to deliver a “devolution revolution”.
He said the Government did not want to “rush” plans to reorganise local authorities.
“This is not about delaying democracy in any way and the accusation from opposition parties on it is, frankly, ludicrous,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
When it was put to him that Reform leader Nigel Farage described the move as the action of “despots, not democrats”, Mr MacAlister told Sky News: “Well, I say, Nigel, pull the other one.
“I represent a constituency in Cumbria. We’re going to have a mayoral election in Cumbria. The reason we’re going ahead in 2027, it’s all very technical, but the reason we’re going ahead in 2027 is that we have unitary local authorities that have already been reorganised.
“The other parts of the country that are having a postponement have still got districts and county levels to be reorganised a year in a row…
“The last government had 14 years to do devolution properly and got barely anywhere with it, so we’re speeding this up in a major way, pushing power down to communities.
“Doing that means elected mayors, yes, but also getting money into these areas for new economic regeneration.”
Asked whether he could see how it looked suspicious amid Labour’s slump in the polls, the children’s minister said: “There are elections taking place next year.
“Local authorities, where they’re still in two tiers and they haven’t reorganised that basic foundation of being a unitary council – it would be a rush to push for that now, rather than get it right.
“But we’re not delaying the money that’s going into those communities.”
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s head of policy, said: “This is a blatant attempt to stop big Reform wins next May. It’s an act of a desperate Government who are clinging on to power by any means necessary.”
Tory shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly said: “This is a scandalous attempt to subvert democracy by a Labour Government whose credibility and popularity are already in tatters.
“The Conservatives firmly oppose this decision to delay the mayoral elections, especially when candidates have been selected and campaigning is well under way.”
Liberal Democrat local government spokeswoman Zoe Franklin said: “Democracy delayed is democracy denied. We are fighting to end this blatant stitch-up between Labour and the Conservatives over local elections.”
Elections in nine council areas, East Sussex, West Sussex, Essex, Thurrock, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Suffolk and Surrey, were already postponed from this year to 2026 amid the reorganisation of local government in England.
Reform UK enjoyed success in the local elections in May this year, winning more than 600 seats and taking control of 10 councils stretching from Kent to Co Durham. The party also toppled a 14,000-strong Labour majority in a parliamentary by-election.
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