Nigel Farage has vowed to scrap the law that allowed Sir Keir Starmer to cancel local elections for 4.6 million people.
He confirmed Reform UK’s next manifesto would include a commitment to remove a clause from the Local Government Act, giving ministers power to delay local authority elections.
The party leader has previously called Sir Keir a “dictator” after his Government decided to cancel 30 local elections that were due to take place on May 7.
Councils across the country were offered the chance to request postponement of the May elections in light of looming local government reorganisation, by submitting the request to Secretary of State for housing, communities and local government, Steve Reed.
Opposition leaders have backed the campaign for a change in the law to prevent ministers being able to cancel local elections “at the stroke of a pen”, with some 30 councils having submitted for postponement.
Mr Farage said: “Reform UK will commit – in its manifesto – to removing section 87 from the 2000 Local Government Act.”
If Reform UK is elected into government and makes the alteration, it would prevent future governments from cancelling elections and “depriving voters of their right to choose.”
Next week, a team of Reform UK lawyers will attempt to overturn the decision to cancel local elections in the High Court.
The legal challenge will be heard on Feb 19 and 20, with a decision expected in time for the postponed elections to go ahead if successful.
Ministers have argued councils cannot afford to hold elections and prepare for local government reorganisation at the same time.
Lawyers representing the Labour Government are expected to justify the decision based on “exceptional circumstances”, whereby councils have said they are “struggling to prepare for resource-intensive elections”.
Due to the cancellation of elections for millions of voters, households across the UK will have no say over who controls their local services and council tax for up to seven years.
The loophole was only supposed to be used in extreme circumstances, and was previously deployed during the Covid pandemic, but critics argue Labour has weaponised it to scrap ballots the party expected to lose.
Basildon Council in Essex is just one of many local authorities that submitted for postponement of elections, despite a petition amassing thousands of signatures in favour of voters democratic rights.
Reform UK is no doubt rising in popularity in the borough, spearheaded by councillor Sam Journet who claims the cabinet went ahead despite constituents disapproval “out of fear” of losing to the popular party had elections gone ahead – as reflected in the borough’s polls showing Reform soar ahead of Labour.
Speaking at a rally in Birmingham on Monday, Mr Farage told supporters that Reform UK was on a “general election war footing” and would be ready to fight an election within two months.
He called the May 7 elections a “crucial” contest and likened them to the midterms in the US.
“I’m not going to wait until after May 7 for the next phase,” he added, “because things are moving rather quickly out there.
“I will, within the next few days, start to unveil the first people who will act as our spokesmen and act as our shadow cabinet ministers.”
In a previous statement to the commons, Steve Reed said: “To those who say we’ve cancelled all the elections, we haven’t. To those who say it’s all Labour councils, it isn’t.
“I’ve asked, I’ve listened, and I’ve acted. No messing about, no playing politics, just getting on with the job of making local government work better for local people.”
