Government cancels plan to delay local council elections in England

Polls in 30 areas had been due to be postponed as part of the government’s shake-up of English councilsUK politics live – latest updatesMinisters have dropped controversial plans to delay 30 local elections this May after receiving legal advice that doing so might not be lawful.The government had planned to delay a number of elections in England while they carry out a reorganisation of local authorities, which is likely to lead to some authorities merging or being subsumed into others. Ministers argued against holding elections for councils that might cease to exist in a year or two. Continue reading...