Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called on Steve Reed to “resign” as a minister following the government’s U-turn on postponing local elections.
The Labour government yesterday abandoned plans to delay 30 council elections in England after legal advice suggested the move could be unlawful. Farage described the controversy as a “resigning matter” for Reed, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Reed had approved the delays until 2027, citing concerns over the cost of holding elections in councils set to be abolished under a major local government reorganisation. Reform UK had launched a legal challenge against the postponement, scheduled for a High Court hearing on Thursday.
Opposition parties welcomed the U-turn, calling the proposed delays undemocratic.
Reform leader Nigel Farage, writing on X, external, said: “We took this Labour government to court and won.
“In collusion with the Tories, Keir Starmer tried to stop 4.6 million people voting on May 7th. Only Reform UK fights for democracy.”
Asked if Reed should resign, Farage told the press “if a government minister does something illegal, they really ought to resign”.
His comments followed earlier remarks claiming that the decision to approve the election delays was “clearly unlawful”.
The government has agreed to cover Reform UK’s legal costs for the case, which a party source estimated at £100,000 or more.
In a letter to council leaders, Reed confirmed that the government had informed the High Court of its decision to withdraw the original postponement.
The statement said: “The secretary of state invited the housing minister, who was not involved in the initial decision-making, to reconsider the position afresh on a very urgent basis recognising the pressing timescales involved.
“The housing minister has decided that the elections should proceed in May 2026.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, added: “Following legal advice, the government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.
“Providing certainty to councils about their local elections is now the most crucial thing and all local elections will now go ahead in May 2026.”
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said he was “pleased the government has done another U-turn”, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was “predictable chaos from a useless government that cannot make basic decisions”, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party “fought tooth and nail to stop this stitch-up and the government has been forced into a humiliating U-turn”.
