Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer given to UIN 89924 on 19 November 2025, whether his Department will require a request from local councils to postpone elections in 2026 to be made before a decision can be taken by his Department to cancel further elections.

As I made clear in my answer to Question UIN 87207 on 10 November 2025, our starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification otherwise. No local elections in Essex were cancelled in 2025. Elections to Essex County Council and to Thurrock Council were postponed for one year, to 2026. There are no plans to cancel any May 2026 elections except in Surrey where elections to the new councils of East Surrey and West Surrey will replace scheduled council elections, subject to Parliament.

Postponements have previously occurred in areas undergoing local government reorganisation only where councils requested or agreed to the postponement.