| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn 14:38 - Feb 16 with 3134 views | Pinewoodblue |
The government has abandoned their bid to delay the local elections to 30 councils in England.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed has decided to "withdraw his decision" to postpone the elections, due to take place in May, "in the light of recent legal advice", according to a letter from the Government Legal Department shared by Nigel Farage.
It is a victory for Reform UK and Farage, who had taken the government to court in a bid to prevent the elections being delayed.
A two-day High Court hearing was due to start on Thursday, but the government will now "seek to agree an order" with Reform UK to end its case, and the government "will agree to pay the claimant's costs of these proceedings".
In a post on X, Farage wrote: "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." |  |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:51 - Feb 16 with 1711 views | Benters |
Fantastic 👍 |  |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:51 - Feb 16 with 1731 views | DJR |
This is absolutely shocking and another nail in the government's coffin.
It certainly won't give parties much time to prepare, and is yet another example of rank incompetence within government. |  | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:52 - Feb 16 with 1728 views | Zx1988 |
My only hope is that the inevitable Reform whitewash in May will give the country two years to witness just how inept and incapable they are at the local level, and discourage enough floating voters not to vote for them in 2029. |  |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:53 - Feb 16 with 1714 views | DJR |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:51 - Feb 16 by Benters |
Fantastic 👍 |
I thought it was the wrong decision to cancel the elections too. | | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:55 - Feb 16 with 1706 views | DJR |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:52 - Feb 16 by Zx1988 |
My only hope is that the inevitable Reform whitewash in May will give the country two years to witness just how inept and incapable they are at the local level, and discourage enough floating voters not to vote for them in 2029. |
I live in Kent where Reform are in charge but what they have got up to doesn't really filter down at a local level.
Maybe the lessening existence of local newspapers plays a part. | | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:55 - Feb 16 with 1677 views | Benters |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:53 - Feb 16 by DJR |
I thought it was the wrong decision to cancel the elections too. |
It could mean the people of the Tendring District can vote  | |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:01 - Feb 16 with 1657 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:51 - Feb 16 by DJR |
This is absolutely shocking and another nail in the government's coffin.
It certainly won't give parties much time to prepare, and is yet another example of rank incompetence within government. |
Makes you wonder who he listens to and why he didn’t get a legal opinion before making his decision.
Daft thing about it postponing the elections would have helped the Tories more than Labour.
Suffolk under Reform control from 7th May | |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:03 - Feb 16 with 1632 views | NthQldITFC |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:53 - Feb 16 by DJR |
I thought it was the wrong decision to cancel the elections too. |
Wrong and utterly idiotic. Even to suggest that in the first place was bound to draw fire (quite rightly) and to shoot yourself in the foot (mixed but related metaphors!). To then, inevitably, have to back away from it is like blowing your other foot off with a sawn-off and hoping that will allow you to walk reasonably evenly again.
At a time when we need all of the decent, responsible, competent (ish?) parties to keep the slavering right wing loonies away from the tiller of the ship of state, we've got Labour doing everything they can to allow the fruitcakes in.
Some of you may think you'd like a bit of fruitcake, but I can guarantee that it will make us very, very sick for a very long time, and you'll go right off it very quickly. |  |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:12 - Feb 16 with 1596 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:55 - Feb 16 by Benters |
It could mean the people of the Tendring District can vote |
The good people of Tendring District voted for me. Twice, 1987 and 1992. Back in 87 TDC was Tory majority. We lost control to a Lib Dem/Labour coalition in 92 and by the time I moved abroad it had gone full Labour. I assume it's Reform controlled now? |  |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:19 - Feb 16 with 1527 views | DJR |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:55 - Feb 16 by Benters |
It could mean the people of the Tendring District can vote |
Are you sure?
It's not on this list of 30 from the Guardian.
Labour – 21
Adur District Council
Basildon Borough Council
Blackburn with Darwen Council
Cannock Chase District Council
Chorley Borough Council
City of Lincoln Council
Crawley Borough Council
Exeter City Council
Hyndburn Borough Council
Ipswich Borough Council
Norwich City Council
Peterborough City Council
Preston City Council
Redditch Borough Council
Rugby Borough Council
Stevenage Borough Council
Tamworth Borough Council
Thurrock Council
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
West Lancashire Borough Council
Worthing Borough Council
Liberal Democrat – 2
Cheltenham Borough Council
Pendle Borough Council
Conservatives – 5
East Sussex County Council
Harlow District Council
Norfolk County Council
Suffolk County Council
West Sussex County Council
Independent – 1
Burnley Borough Council
Green – 1
Hastings Borough Council | | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:23 - Feb 16 with 1509 views | Clapham_Junction |
A waste of public money IMO.
The only good thing is that if any of these 30 councils are won by Reform, those in charge won't have much opportunity to do too much damage before the councils in question cease to exist – they won't even get to set a normal budget as the 2026/27 budget will already have been set before they're elected and the 2027/28 year will be a transitional one prior to the new councils coming into being in April 2028.
It's sad that what has been standard practice for decades (cancelling elections to an authority that's about to cease to exist) has been politicised. Symptomatic of the times sadly. I guess we'll see the same nonsense next year when the councillors being elected will get to serve for less than a year before their councils disappear. |  | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:25 - Feb 16 with 1483 views | DJR |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:19 - Feb 16 by DJR |
Are you sure?
It's not on this list of 30 from the Guardian.
Labour – 21
Adur District Council
Basildon Borough Council
Blackburn with Darwen Council
Cannock Chase District Council
Chorley Borough Council
City of Lincoln Council
Crawley Borough Council
Exeter City Council
Hyndburn Borough Council
Ipswich Borough Council
Norwich City Council
Peterborough City Council
Preston City Council
Redditch Borough Council
Rugby Borough Council
Stevenage Borough Council
Tamworth Borough Council
Thurrock Council
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
West Lancashire Borough Council
Worthing Borough Council
Liberal Democrat – 2
Cheltenham Borough Council
Pendle Borough Council
Conservatives – 5
East Sussex County Council
Harlow District Council
Norfolk County Council
Suffolk County Council
West Sussex County Council
Independent – 1
Burnley Borough Council
Green – 1
Hastings Borough Council |
Looking at the council's website, it looks like there were already going to be Essex County Council elections. | | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:33 - Feb 16 with 1399 views | thebooks |
Ipswich Labour will be shıtting themselves. |  | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:38 - Feb 16 with 1373 views | OldFart71 |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 14:52 - Feb 16 by Zx1988 |
My only hope is that the inevitable Reform whitewash in May will give the country two years to witness just how inept and incapable they are at the local level, and discourage enough floating voters not to vote for them in 2029. |
Well they'd have to be pretty crap to be worse than Labour. The proof of the pudding as they say. | | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:51 - Feb 16 with 1296 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:33 - Feb 16 by thebooks |
Ipswich Labour will be shıtting themselves. |
Not as much as Suffolk Tories. | |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:51 - Feb 16 with 1294 views | OldFart71 |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:03 - Feb 16 by NthQldITFC |
Wrong and utterly idiotic. Even to suggest that in the first place was bound to draw fire (quite rightly) and to shoot yourself in the foot (mixed but related metaphors!). To then, inevitably, have to back away from it is like blowing your other foot off with a sawn-off and hoping that will allow you to walk reasonably evenly again.
At a time when we need all of the decent, responsible, competent (ish?) parties to keep the slavering right wing loonies away from the tiller of the ship of state, we've got Labour doing everything they can to allow the fruitcakes in.
Some of you may think you'd like a bit of fruitcake, but I can guarantee that it will make us very, very sick for a very long time, and you'll go right off it very quickly. |
Why do we want Labour in. A Party that's supposed to be for the working classes. They don't even know what working class is. The PM is worth about £8 million, Blair has a handful of multi million pound houses in London. Rayner bought a £400,000 house.
In effect none of these people whether Tory or Labour are real working class. They may at some stage have been but certainly aren't now.
All these people like Cameron and people like Mandelson in the House of Lords get £350 a day tax free, hardly working class.
Gutter politics with heads in troughs and frankly although I want Labour gone I have no faith in any of them. | | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:07 - Feb 16 with 1237 views | bsw72 |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:01 - Feb 16 by Pinewoodblue |
Makes you wonder who he listens to and why he didn’t get a legal opinion before making his decision.
Daft thing about it postponing the elections would have helped the Tories more than Labour.
Suffolk under Reform control from 7th May |
I would look at it from a different perspective.
He now believes that he is better off losing a lot of local seats to Reform, to effectively give them the rope to hang themselves, so that in 3 years time at the GE people will have seen how poorly Reform have performed in local gvmt and subsequently weaken Fartage's position that they are able to govern effectively at a national level.
I may be giving Starmer more credit, but he's a lot cleverer than people think - you don't get to to be DPP and Head of the CPS by luck or default. |  | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:14 - Feb 16 with 1205 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:07 - Feb 16 by bsw72 |
I would look at it from a different perspective.
He now believes that he is better off losing a lot of local seats to Reform, to effectively give them the rope to hang themselves, so that in 3 years time at the GE people will have seen how poorly Reform have performed in local gvmt and subsequently weaken Fartage's position that they are able to govern effectively at a national level.
I may be giving Starmer more credit, but he's a lot cleverer than people think - you don't get to to be DPP and Head of the CPS by luck or default. |
He has done a U turn now rather than being forced to do so as a result of being taken to court by Reform | |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:18 - Feb 16 with 1178 views | bartyg |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:07 - Feb 16 by bsw72 |
I would look at it from a different perspective.
He now believes that he is better off losing a lot of local seats to Reform, to effectively give them the rope to hang themselves, so that in 3 years time at the GE people will have seen how poorly Reform have performed in local gvmt and subsequently weaken Fartage's position that they are able to govern effectively at a national level.
I may be giving Starmer more credit, but he's a lot cleverer than people think - you don't get to to be DPP and Head of the CPS by luck or default. |
An unironic "excellent gambit, sir", incredible. |  | | |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:31 - Feb 16 with 1100 views | Benters |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:19 - Feb 16 by DJR |
Are you sure?
It's not on this list of 30 from the Guardian.
Labour – 21
Adur District Council
Basildon Borough Council
Blackburn with Darwen Council
Cannock Chase District Council
Chorley Borough Council
City of Lincoln Council
Crawley Borough Council
Exeter City Council
Hyndburn Borough Council
Ipswich Borough Council
Norwich City Council
Peterborough City Council
Preston City Council
Redditch Borough Council
Rugby Borough Council
Stevenage Borough Council
Tamworth Borough Council
Thurrock Council
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
West Lancashire Borough Council
Worthing Borough Council
Liberal Democrat – 2
Cheltenham Borough Council
Pendle Borough Council
Conservatives – 5
East Sussex County Council
Harlow District Council
Norfolk County Council
Suffolk County Council
West Sussex County Council
Independent – 1
Burnley Borough Council
Green – 1
Hastings Borough Council |
Balls etc. | |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:31 - Feb 16 with 1090 views | Benters |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:12 - Feb 16 by GlasgowBlue |
The good people of Tendring District voted for me. Twice, 1987 and 1992. Back in 87 TDC was Tory majority. We lost control to a Lib Dem/Labour coalition in 92 and by the time I moved abroad it had gone full Labour. I assume it's Reform controlled now? |
Yes it is. | |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:32 - Feb 16 with 1081 views | Benters |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 15:25 - Feb 16 by DJR |
Looking at the council's website, it looks like there were already going to be Essex County Council elections. |
I’m not in Essex I’m in Tendring. | |
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| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:45 - Feb 16 with 1012 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Another Starmer ‘U’ turn on 16:32 - Feb 16 by Benters |
I’m not in Essex I’m in Tendring. |
You live in both. Tendring is your District Council and Essex is your County Council. Actually there is a third, Great Bentley Parish Council. | |
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