Peterborough City Council has been formally invited by the Government to give its views on delaying the city’s Local Elections scheduled for Spring 2026.
In a letter sent on Thursday, 18 December, ministers asked the council to respond on whether postponing the elections until 2027 would help release capacity needed to deliver Local Government Reorganisation in the area.
Peterborough City Council, along with other councils, has until midnight on Thursday, 15 January to submit its position. The Secretary of State will then decide whether to issue an order allowing elections to be deferred by one year for councils that identify capacity concerns. Town and parish council elections would continue as planned.
The request comes as councils across England and Wales prepare for Local Government Reorganisation, which will bring changes to council structures and the geographical areas they serve.
The council will now consider how to respond ahead of the May 2026 elections, when 18 councillor seats would otherwise be contested by the public.
Councillor Shabina Qayyum, leader of Peterborough City Council, said: “We welcome the opportunity to set out our views to Government on the postponement of a local elections in Spring 2026, to free up essential capacity to get on with the job of LGR.
“It is a busy time for all councils in England and Wales with the LGR fast approaching, which is a fundamental change to how councils will operate and the geographical areas they will serve.
“We will now be spending time with both officers and our Councillors to consider what is best for Peterborough, to go ahead with an election in 2026, or to postpone to 2027.”
