The UK government has dropped its plan to delay 30 council elections in England. This decision comes after a legal challenge from Reform UK claimed the delay was undemocratic. Councils and local parties now have just over 11 weeks to prepare for elections on May 7. Matthew Hicks, Conservative leader of Suffolk county council, said ministers had “consistently expressed confidence” in postponing elections, so the sudden reversal was surprising. He added, “Local councils across the country are experiencing whiplash as major government decisions shift repeatedly and without warning.” Hicks also warned this move left “a significant question mark” over local government reorganisation plans. Labour MP Florence Eshalomi criticized the situation. She said, “Councils should not have been put in the position of choosing between frontline services or elections.” She called democracy “not an inefficiency that should be cut out during a local government reorganisation process.” Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, slammed the government’s approach. He said it was “playing fast and loose with the foundations of democracy” and accused ministers of showing “capricious disregard for local democracy.” Carr-West warned the tight election timetable would strain staff workloads and cause parties to scramble for candidates. Richard Wright, chair of the District Councils’ Network, called the changes to the electoral timetable “bewildering.” He said the government, not councils, should take responsibility for the confusion. He highlighted the challenge as councils undergo the biggest reorganisation in 50 years. Several council leaders said they continued election preparations amid ongoing legal uncertainty. Kay Mason Billig, Conservative leader of Norfolk county council, said the government had “wasted everyone’s time” but she was ready to proceed with the planned elections. Labour leader Shabina Qayyum of Peterborough city council added that preparations never stopped despite the government’s wavering decisions.