I have signed a motion calling for a debate on the Government’s decision to cancel local elections for nine areas in England, including for us here in Essex.

Our local councils were told by the Labour Government that they were going to be merged and would no longer exist by the next General Election. They were asked if they wanted some level of influence on behalf of local residents on the future shape of local democracy and bring together their own proposals, or have it done for them by the Labour Government. They chose to bring together proposals and the Government allowed them to cancel the local elections planned for this May while they work on them for the Autumn deadline the Government gave them.

Our local councils should not be given a matter of months to put together proposals for the future of all the local services that hundreds of thousands of local residents rely on.

I am calling on the Government to remove the Autumn deadline for councils to bring proposals together, restore the local elections in May and give our councillors, and us as residents, an actual choice over the future of our local government.

Dame Rebecca Harris, February 2025