Nigel Farage takes Keir Starmer to courtroom to ‘defend democracy’ as Reform UK will get go-ahead for authorized problem towards Labour’s plan to cancel native elections in May

Reform UK will legally challenge the Government’s plans to allow local councils to cancel elections in May with a hearing set for next month.

Nigel Farage‘s party said it was taking action to ‘defend democracy’ after dozens of councils asked to delay contests due on May 7.

Ministers last month announced a total of 63 councils were being given the option to postpone elections until 2027, as they seek to deliver a shake-up to local government.

Labour wants to abolish the two-tier system of county and district councils in favour of new unitary authorities, which are expected to be up and running in 2028.

But opposition parties have claimed Labour is ‘running scared’ of voters by allowing a delay to May’s local elections, in which they are expected to perform poorly.

Reform is taking legal action against the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) against the postponements.

The party’s lawyers told the High Court on Tuesday that if a date for a full hearing could be set relatively quickly, they would not seek a temporary block on the plans.

A two-day hearing of the legal challenge is now expected to begin on February 19.

Nigel Farage’s party said it was taking action to ‘defend democracy’ after more than a dozen councils asked to delay contests due on May 7

Mr Justice Chamberlain said that any council or party wishing to be added to the case as an interested party must make the application by January 30.

Zia Yusuf, Reform’s head of policy, hailed how the party would ‘get our full hearing next month’ as they seek to ‘defend democracy’.

He added: ‘Step one of our judicial review against the illegal cancellation of elections is complete.’

Julian Blake, representing the MHCLG, said in written submissions: ‘The powers that are the subject of the claim are properly a product of primary legislation.

‘They have been used on many occasions, including for example, to allow for postponement of local elections in areas contemplating and undergoing local government reorganisation.’

Timothy Straker KC, representing Reform, said the party wanted to ensure that anyone who might want to be associated with the party ‘should be considered and scrutinised by the claimant well in advance of the election’.

He added: ‘If the stock of those being considered is undermined because the Secretary of State has said he will cancel elections statutorily due on May 7, then the scrutiny process is undermined.

‘If the ring is not held but the claimant succeeds in its arguments, then the timescale for scrutiny, and for candidates to come forward, is wrongly abbreviated.

‘It may sensibly be supposed that at least some other political parties will wish also to scrutinise those who wish to be associated with them.’

Just under a half of eligible councils in England are reported to have asked to postpone their elections due in May, affecting millions of voters.

Reform has pointed to polling showing they would have won in 20 councils where elections are set to be cancelled, while Labour would lose half of its seats it is due to defend in May. 

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defended the Government’s plans and said the prospect of postponements was ‘a common-sense question’ of whether to go forward with elections in cases where the local authority was due to undergo changes. 

A Reform spokesman said: ‘We said we would fight Labour every step of the way on this and we are doing so.

‘Labour are disgracefully trying to deny democracy. We are determined to win this case next month.’