By GB News (Politics) | Created at 2025-03-24 20:58:02 | Updated at 2025-03-29 06:01:59
4 days ago
Nigel Farage has urged Tory peers to condemn Angela Rayner's local election cancellations in the House of Lords today in a bid to hand 5.5 million Britons the chance to vote.
This morning, the Reform UK leader unusually put his weight behind Green and Liberal Democrat peers who have tabled "fatal motions" to avert Rayner's local authority shake-ups and allow the May 1 elections to proceed.
More than five million people across nine county councils have had their polls postponed to allow the Deputy PM to reorganise local authorities.
With both Labour and the Conservatives widely expected to suffer large-scale losses in May, the "minor" parties have come together to demand democracy in the face of the Government's "stitch-up".
Farage unusually put his weight behind Green and Liberal Democrat baronesses who have tabled "fatal motions" to avert Rayner's local authority shake-ups
His comments were echoed by a Reform spokesman - who said the Tories "have a chance today to stand against Rayner's local election stitch up" and let "people have their voices heard".
A poll conducted for The Telegraph earlier this month indicated that Rayner's decision to cancel key ballots could prevent Reform from securing a victory on May 1.
The survey projected that Reform would either control or be the largest party in eight councils, while the Tories would dominate 10.
However, if all county council elections had proceeded, Reform would have been the largest party in 12 councils, compared to the Tories' 11.
The delays have occurred because Rayner is eliminating district councils and merging them into county councils to create new unitary authorities.
She explained that this meant, in many cases, holding a county council election would be redundant, as another election would take place the following year for the new unitary structure.
A spokesman for Rayner's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We have agreed to postpone scheduled elections from May 2025 until May 2026 only, for nine councils whose requests met the high bar we set.
"This postponement is necessary to unlock devolution and deliver reorganisation to the fastest-possible timeline, which will drive growth and mean more money in people's pockets, greater accountability, and the ability to reinvest in vital public services."
