Labour denies 4 million people the vote | UK | News

Four million people will be denied the right to vote in May’s local elections, which the Conservative Party and Reform Party criticized as a “disgraceful attack on democracy” by Labor. The Government is expected to cancel at least 27 council elections, meaning hundreds of councilors will avoid the risk of losing votes, The Telegraph reports.

The Conservatives and Reform England have accused Sir Keir Starmer of being “afraid” of voters at a time when polls show support for Labor is collapsing. Nigel Farage’s party will launch a judicial review on Thursday in a bid to go ahead with the election.

According to the report, the Prime Minister is relying on an obscure clause in the Local Government Act 2000 that gives his ministers the power to delay the vote. More than 20 councils confirmed delays; three quarters of these are under Labour’s rule. Seven more Labor councils are expected to join them, leaving a total of 3.7 million people disenfranchised. Some councils will cancel elections for the second year in a row, meaning councilors will remain in office for seven years without having to be re-elected.

The government claims it should give some councils the option of postponing elections because they face major restructuring under a program to abolish some district councils and introduce mayoralties. However, the independent observer Electoral Commission argued that this did not constitute an “exceptional situation” that would justify a postponement.

Cleverly: ‘Labour rejects democracy’

Shadow local government secretary James Cleverly said: “It can’t be right that some elected representatives are now serving seven-year terms. Residents have the right to choose who represents them and the Government must respect that right. Labor rejects democracy and fears voters’ verdict on their terrible leadership. After promising elections would go ahead, they are back at the U. We voted against postponing elections last year and will do so again. Democracy must prevail and voters should be able to make their own decisions. voices have been heard.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was among those backing the change and his party will launch a judicial review to force the Government to go ahead with the election. His party’s lawyers will accuse Communities Minister Steve Reed of “abusing his power” and said the 2000 Act does not give him the power to change election years due to reorganizations.

The decision to cancel the election triggered widespread unrest in Sir Keir’s party. Last month former local government minister Jim McMahon criticized plans to delay the mayoral election, saying his own government needed to “be better”.

Broxbourne Council leader Corina Gander, who was among those who turned down the opportunity to postpone the election, said Labor was “scared of the ballot box”. He said: “I think the Government wants the May elections to be canceled because they know they won’t win or retain many seats. Instead of saying we canceled they tried to scapegoat us so we’ll turn around and say ‘we don’t want the elections to go ahead’. My message has been clear from day one. I believe in democracy and we need to go to the vote.”

Works council member angry at government

Kim Taylor, a Labor councilor on the Tory-run Hampshire county council who rejected the delay, said she was “angry” at the Government for putting councilors in the position of having to decide whether to postpone the election. He said: “I have often found myself plagued with guilt when I think about having to choose between democracy and the dire consequences that could arise if the local government review transition does not go smoothly.”

A source close to Mr Reed said: “It makes sense – councils are being reorganized to free up money for things people really care about, such as social care or fixing potholes. They may need to delay elections where old councils are abolished so we can move forward more quickly with elections for new councils to replace them. If opposition parties want to use this to score political points, the only people who will suffer are taxpayers, whose money will be spent on unnecessary elections rather than frontline services.”