With most councils set to be scrapped within two years, the government is asking whether elections should be pushed back
Lincoln’s elections shouldn’t be cancelled this year, opposition councillors have said. The government has asked most authorities with elections in May whether it would like to postpone them ahead of a major council shake-up.
A third of the seats on the City of Lincoln Council would be up for grabs, but the winners would only be in place for two years before the authority ceases to exist. If delayed, elections for the new councils would instead be held in May 2027, with them being created the following year.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that the City of Lincoln Council are still considering how to respond to the government’s question. The council’s Conservative group have urged for this year’s elections to go ahead, and had called a special meeting to debate the topic next week.
Councillor Tom Dyer, who leads the council’s Conservative group, said: “Elections are a vital part of our democracy. While local government reorganisation may be on the horizon, this should not be used as an excuse to halt democratic processes in the meantime.
“Democracy has a cost and it can create political uncertainty, but it is a fundamental principle of our system that elections proceed as planned. Historically, elections have only been postponed in the most exceptional circumstances, such as during world wars or a global pandemic.
“The City Council should not be seeking to cancel this year’s elections. They should go ahead as scheduled.
“The leader of the Council has remained silent on this matter since the letter was received. She must make her intentions clear, and I hope she chooses to stand up for democracy.”
The special full council meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 14, with a reply needing to be sent to the government by the next day. The City of Lincoln Council has been contacted for comment.
All two-tier councils – which includes all those in Lincolnshire – are set to be abolished, and replaced with much larger unitary councils which handle all services. A letter from the Minister for Local Government Alison McGovern says it has heard from “councils concerned about the cost to taxpayers of holding elections to councils that are proposed to shortly be abolished.”
