The decision to go ahead with elections in May could adversely affect vulnerable people if the government sticks to its timetable for devolution and a shake up of Sussex councils.
That was the verdict of West Sussex County Council which issued a statement this morning (Tuesday 17 February) in response to the government’s local elections U-turn yesterday.
The Labour government reversed its position on cancelling elections after a legal challenge by Reform UK in the High Court was set down to be heard on Thursday (19 February).
Now, Conservative-led West Sussex County Council will have to hold elections on Thursday 7 May – as will Conservative-led East Sussex County Council and four district councils – Adur, Crawley, Hastings and Worthing.
Adur, Crawley and Worthing are run by Labour while the Greens are the largest party on Hastings Borough Council.
West Sussex County Council said today: “We submitted our preferred option for local government reorganisation (LGR) in September and clearly explained to the government the impact that continuing with local elections in 2026 would have on the ability to deliver the government’s policy objectives of devolution and LGR on their requested timetable.
“Based on our submission, minsters decided the threshold for deferring local elections had been met.
“They have since changed their position. This indecision has heightened the level of difficulty, creating significant uncertainty.
“The risk we face is not whether we have new arrangements in place in 2028 but the extent to which we can be confident those arrangements will be put in place without adversely affecting people that rely on the vital services we deliver.
“We will now take some time to digest this news and assess the impact on the LGR timetable.”
