ALL Lancashire council leaders with elections in 2026 call for them to be scrapped

West Lancashire Borough Council’s leader became the latest to call for the government to pull the plug on the polls – which were scheduled to take place in seven areas – just ahead of a deadline for doing so.

In Preston, Chorley, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn and Pendle, the requests came on behalf of the authorities themselves after full council or cabinet votes on the subject – even though opinions offered differed between political parties.

West Lancashire’s call has been made by the ruling Labour group – not the authority as an organisation. The opposition Conservative and Our West Lancashire groups on ther council have approached the government to ask that the elections go ahead.

All 15 main councils in Lancashire are set to be axed in just over two years as part of a huge government-ordered shake-up that will see just a handful of new authorities created to cover the whole county.

The government offered 63 councils nationwide whose days are similarly numbered the chance to request what it described as the “postponement” of elections in their areas – if they had concerns about the capacity to deliver them alongside the major reorganisation process that is poised to get under way in more than 20 parts of England in the coming months.

Labour-run Preston, Chorley, Blackburn with Darwen and Hyndburn made the decision to do so before Christmas, with coalition-controlled Burnley and Pendle following suit this week – all to varying degrees of local political controversy.

West Lancashire’s leader, Yvonne Gagen, had previously said only that she believed the government should make the decision over any changes to election plans.

However, the LDRS understands that the ruling Labour group held a meeting on Wednesday evening – just 24 hours before the deadline for submissions to the government – during which a majority of members supported making the same move as the six other Lancashire councils with elections scheduled this year – in order for there to be a consistent approach across the county.

Cllr Gagen told the LDRS she was “disappointed that the government didn’t make a blanket decision months ago for all those councils going through local government reorganisation (LGR) and who had elections [due in May]”.

She added: “I hope they now make a decision quickly so we can continue with the complex work around LGR.”

Elections to so-called ‘shadow’ versions of the replacement councils for Lancashire – the size and shape of which will be decided by the government later this year – will be held in May 2027, ahead of them formally coming into being on 1st April, 2028.

The existing authorities have submitted five visions for the future of local government in the county under the new streamlined arrangements.

Prior to the deadline for election cancellation requests from councils, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told the LDRS: “We will not govern from Whitehall without the consent of local government.

“That is why we are asking each local authority which is undergoing local government reorganisation whether they would want to delay elections in these extraordinary circumstances.

“The view of local government leaders will be taken seriously and we hope to make a more informed decision.”

That decision is due to be made shortly.

Note - this piece was updated at 18:30 on 16th January to reflect that the leader of West Lancashire Borough Council requested the cancellation of this year’s local elections in her capacity as Labour group leader, NOT the leader of the authority. Although the original version did refer to the fact that it was a decision by the ruling group that prompted her to approach the government to make the request, other aspects of the piece implied that it was then done on behalf of the whole council.