Remove power to cancel local government elections
154,829 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 25 November 2025; it closed on 25 May 2026. The Government responded on 5 January 2026. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 2 March 2026.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Remove power to cancel local government elections
Change the law to remove the power of the Secretary of State to cancel any further forthcoming local government, metropolitan borough, London borough or any other elections, for example, but not limited to, those due in May 2026.
Ever since 1918, the right to vote is sacred and inalienable. 2025 Elections in some areas were cancelled this year. We believe any further cancellations would be voter suppression and undemocratic. The will of the people of the nation must be heard.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 5 January 2026; the petitions site lists the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government as responsible. Its summary:
The Secretary of State’s powers in this area are set out in legislation made by Parliament and used only with strong justification. The Government has no plans to amend these powers.
The opening 364 words of the 455-word response:
Parliament has conferred powers on the Secretary of State to postpone local elections under the Local Government Act 2000. While these powers sit with the Secretary of State, Parliament retains an oversight role through the statutory instrument process, ensuring democratic accountability. These powers are used infrequently.
Most recently they were used in February 2025 when a statutory instrument was made to postpone the ordinary local elections due to take place in May 2025 in East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Thurrock and West Sussex. The instrument was made using statutory powers, laid before Parliament and debated and voted on by both Houses. The accompanying Explanatory Memorandum to the 2025 statutory instrument sets out the reasons for the decision: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/137/pdfs/uksiem_20250137_en_001.pdf
On 18 December 2025, the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness updated Parliament (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-12-18/hcws1215) that she had written to councils going through local government reorganisation that have elections scheduled for May 2026. She invited council leaders to set out their views on the postponement of local elections in their area and if they consider that postponement would release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation. No decisions have been made at this stage; all evidence and representations will be considered individually before any final decision. Any subsequent legislation would be subject to Parliament. The majority of local elections in 2026 are unaffected by local government reorganisation.
Parliament has also conferred powers on the Secretary of State to implement proposals for unitary local government under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. These powers include provision for electoral matters. Again, while these powers sit with the Secretary of State, Parliament retains an oversight role through the statutory instrument process, ensuring democratic accountability. When these powers are used, it is typical to provide for elections to the new councils and to cancel any scheduled elections to predecessor councils that otherwise would take place at the same time. We have set out our intention to use these powers to implement the proposal for two new unitary councils in Surrey. We will bring to the House, for approval, a Structural Changes Order, which will establish East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Basildon and Billericay, with 11.1 signatures per 1,000 electors (851 in all).
153,851 of the signatures were from the UK and 978 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basildon and Billericay | 851 | 76,873 | 11.1 |
| Castle Point | 648 | 71,026 | 9.1 |
| Clacton | 651 | 78,245 | 8.3 |
| South Basildon and East Thurrock | 581 | 72,673 | 8.0 |
| Great Yarmouth | 544 | 73,317 | 7.4 |
| Maldon | 578 | 78,282 | 7.4 |
| Rayleigh and Wickford | 565 | 76,576 | 7.4 |
| Sussex Weald | 527 | 72,885 | 7.2 |
| South West Norfolk | 523 | 74,724 | 7.0 |
| Gosport | 502 | 73,261 | 6.9 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 24,552 |
| East of England | 21,159 |
| North West | 19,270 |
| South West | 14,971 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 14,691 |
| West Midlands | 13,705 |
| East Midlands | 12,536 |
| North East | 8,591 |
| London | 8,135 |
| Wales | 7,880 |
| Scotland | 6,039 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,181 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 2 March 2026. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/747234.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
bd925a29ef9a3034… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.