Labour should not allow local elections to be delayed in May, the head of the electoral watchdog has warned.
In a striking intervention, Vijay Rangarajan, the chief executive of the Electoral Commission, said ministers do not have ‘sufficient reason’ to stop millions of voters from taking part in the forthcoming local elections.
Criticising the Government’s decision to allow 30 local authorities to postpone their council elections in what has been seen as an attempt to prevent catastrophe for Labour at the polls, he said voters should decide when councillors faced votes, not the other way round.
He added: ‘[There is] this conflict of interest where you’re asking people to decide how long it is before they face voters.’
Ministers had given 63 local authorities with elections scheduled for this year the option to delay them, arguing councils cannot afford to hold elections and prepare for local government reorganisation at the same time.
But Mr Rangarajan said ‘capacity constraint’ was not a ‘sufficient reason’ for a delay.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has accused Labour of behaving ‘like dictators’ over the election delays, which will be challenged by Reform in the High Court this week.
Vijay Rangarajan (pictured), the chief executive of the Electoral Commission, said voters should decide when councillors faced votes, not the other way round
Mr Rangarajan also raised concerns over five councils which postponed their elections last year and are set to delay them again, meaning councillors will now serve for seven years after being first elected in 2021.
It will affect a potential 3.5 million voters, including in areas where Reform was likely to do well.
A string of councillors in Norfolk, one of the five areas, have already stepped down in protest. And some voters have withheld council tax payments, arguing there should be no taxation without the chance to elect representatives.