‘You can run, but you can’t hide!’ Reform ‘looking at legal options’ as elections delayed

has slammed the county councils seeking to have their votes postponed as “an act of pure cowardice”.

The party chairman says they are “looking at the legal options” as more than half of the local authorities are poised to ask ministers to delay the ballots.

Chairman of Reform UK warned councils: “You can run, but you can’t hide”.

Mr Yusuf told the Express: “ and the are so terrified of the turquoise tidal wave that is sweeping this country that they want to delay contact with their electorate. But we have a message for them which is simply that you may think you can run, but you can’t hide from your electorate and when those elections are held, that turquoise tidal wave will crash down on them much much harder than it would’ve now.

“We are looking at the legal options we have, but it’s very difficult. We’re an insurgent party.”

With new devolution plans announced last month in a bid to redesign local government, Labour has said they want there to be fewer councils in England and for each region to have its own mayor. The government then set a tight deadline of January 10 for areas to express interest in this with requests to delay elections.

Reform UK leader told the Express: “It’s an act of pure cowardice, it’s a denial of democracy, the whole thing’s a disgrace.

“These are conservative councils latching onto Labour’s radical plans for local government, none of which by the way have been debated or discussed, and they know they’re really going to get a tough time from Reform.”

The county councils that have expressed interest in postponement are: Devon, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Thurrock, Warwickshire, West Sussex and Worcestershire. Ministers will make the ultimate decision on whether local elections are delayed.

Mr Farage says: “They want to keep their jobs, they want to keep their money, and they’re saying it might take up until 2028 for these changes to come, well that’s almost the next full term. There is no reason to cancel these elections whatsoever, I think it’s a disgrace.”

Speaking before the Reform South-East conference for which hundreds of party members on Friday night gathered in Esher, Surrey, Mr Farage nodded towards the lively crowd waiting eagerly in anticipation to see his appearance on stage.

He adds: “And this room full of people, I got them here tonight from Kent, Surrey and Sussex to talk about our plans running up to May 1, but that’s now of course, it looks as if it will come to nothing. I’m very angry and I think the great British public will see through it.”

21 county council areas are due to see elections in England in May, as well as elections for some regional mayors and unitary authorities. However, for those submitting delay requests, the postponement could be over a year.

Deputy Prime Minister has announced plans for smaller district councils and larger county councils to be merged, creating single councils to streamline the number of local authorities.

Mr Yusuf continues: “There were supposed to be over 2,200 seats up for election in England in the councils and unitaries this May, of which around 1,500 were Tory held. Hundreds of those councillors will now get seven-year terms. There is no excuse for that whatsoever.

“Only dictators cancel elections and I believe that is true. Democracy is an extremely precious thing. Here’s the irony, you had a former Labour deputy prime minister, Harriet Harman, just a few weeks ago going on TV and pontificating that Reform, ’s Reform, was, and I quote, ‘a threat to democracy’. Literally within 24 hours, the story started to break about how they were planning, the Labour party were planning to postpone these elections, and there’s no excuse for that whatsoever.”