Devon wants council overhaul postponement after government elections backtrack

Senior Liberal Democrats have urged Westminster to step in and postpone the process of radically overhauling Devon’s councils amid the backtrack over this year’s local elections.

The government had allowed 30 councils to postpone elections that were due to happen in May this year, including Exeter, but ministers enacted a U-turn on that decision on Monday (16 February) just weeks after it was made.
Part of the rationale for allowing those councils to postpone their elections was the claim that local authorities would not have the capacity to run polls this year and deal with the requirements of local government reorganisation (LGR).
For Devon and 20 other areas in England, this will see the two-tier system of local government scrapped. That is likely to mean the county’s current cohort of 11 councils is likely to reduce to three or four, with those being larger unitary councils that carry out all services under one roof rather than residents having to turn to a district or county council depending on the service.
Now though, some of Devon’s most senior Liberal Democrats have called for the LGR process to be delayed, with an urge for the decision to be taken sooner rather than later.
“My ask of the government is to have a look at how LGR has gone for you since [it was announced] in December 2024 when you decided not just to attempt devolution [mayoral authorities], which is already a failure, but to go for total local government reorganisation,” said Councillor Paul Arnott (Coly Valley), the deputy leader and cabinet member for LGR.
“It has gone catastrophically, so please now consider a postponement.”
Cllr Arnott added that the intended timetable for LGR – with the government’s decision on how Devon should be organised set for July and interim elections for those new councils in May 2027 – was “neither realistic or sustainable”.
“So my message to the government is to courteously ask they postpone the process, but to do so now and not change their minds at the 11th hour, like they have just done with this year’s local elections,” he added.
Councillor Julian Brazil (Liberal Democrat, Kingsbridge), the leader of Devon County Council, welcomed the fact the local elections would now be on but expressed “dismay at what is going on in government”.
“I think it is a sorry state of affairs when the government is descending from chaos to farce, and they will forever be known as the hokey cokey government – in then out,” he said.
“It’s quite chaotic.”
Reform UK nationally challenged the government over its decision to postpone the 30 local elections, but ministers this week climbed down from that position.
The move means 13 seats out of Exeter’s 39 will be up for grabs. Labour holds eight of the seats being contested, and its performance as well as those of rival parties could have a significant impact on the balance of power.
Councillor Phil Bialyk (Labour, Exwick), the Labour leader of Exeter City Council, welcomed the polls being reinstated given the government had listened to its concerns about its ability to run the election and prepare for LGR.
In its letter this week, the government said it had found funding to support those councils trying to manage both processes, alleviating the pressure that councils claimed they would be under from a financial and resource perspective.
“Hopefully people will not use the election as a referendum on the national government but use it to decide on local issues,” Cllr Bialyk said on Monday (16 February).
“The Labour record here in Exeter is quite strong on delivering services. We have been out campaigning already, and I hope people are hearing the message on how we are delivering services for the people of the city.
“I want people not to judge us by what the national government is doing – judge us by what we are doing in Exeter.”