Most wanting a delay are Labour-led, but three are Conservative-led and one is Liberal Democrat. Some of the councils that have asked for a delay are run by more than one party, or independents.
The decision to postpone elections has been criticised by opposition parties.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey claimed Labour was “running scared of the electorate” and “denying millions of people a voice at May’s local elections”.
He called for a change in the law so MPs can vote on any future election delays and hold the government to account.
Speaking in the Commons, Reed’s Conservative counterpart James Cleverly said elections are the cornerstone of democracy, attacking Labour for “moving seamlessly from arrogance to incompetence and now cowardice”.
Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick, who defected from the Conservatives last week, claimed delaying local council elections for a second year is “almost certainly illegal”.
In his previous role as communities secretary, Jenrick had also delayed local elections in areas undergoing reorganisation, including in Cumbria, Somerset and North Yorkshire in 2021.
Responding, Reed claimed Jenrick had failed “to act on eliminating waste” by not removing the two-tier council system, and quoted a statement Jenrick gave in 2021: “Elections in such circumstances risk confusing voters and would be hard to justify where members could be elected to serve shortened terms.”
Asked about the legal action Reform is bringing against the decision, with a hearing scheduled for 19 February, Reed said it would be “entirely inappropriate” for him to comment on legal proceedings.
The Electoral Commission, which oversees elections in the UK, has said delays to council elections in England risk “damaging public confidence” and it did not think “capacity constraints are a legitimate reason for delaying long-planned elections”.
Holding elections this year means some of the councils up for election this year will be folded into new unitary councils in 2027 or 2028, so councillors may only be in office for a year. Others may end up serving extended terms of up to seven years.
