These are the places in Lancashire where local elections could be cancelled - and why
Four councils in Lancashire have said they will ask the government to cancel local elections in their areas next year.
Polls are due to take place in May 2026 in Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Preston and West Lancashire.
One in three seats on those authorities would ordinarily be up for grabs, but a forthcoming shake-up of local government in Lancashire will see all 15 of its councils abolished in April 2028.
Elections to so-called ‘shadow’ versions of the new the new standalone local authorities that will be created to replace them - which will cover much larger areas - are set to be held in May 2027.
Against that backdrop, Blackburn with Darwen, Chorley, Hyndburn and Preston councils have called on the government to scrap what would have been the last ever local in those places elections before the changes that are on the way.
They have argued that the complexity of the reorganisation process requires a period of political stability - and also that axing the polls would prevent cash being waste on elections to authorities whose days are numbered.
Pendle Council leader David Whipp has said he wants the scheduled elections in his district to go ahead, while Burnley Council leader Afrasiab Anwar has called for clarity from the government one way or the other.
West Lancashire Borough Council has not made any representations on the matter.
The government has previously said that the “starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification otherwise” - but it has cancelled local elections in other areas going through the same changes as Lancashire is about to embark upon.