The Government has made the Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/96). Signed on 3 February 2026, laid on 5 February, and in force from 27 February 2026, it moves the ordinary local elections due in May 2026 to May 2027 for specified councils in England. The instrument extends to England and Wales but applies only to the English authorities listed in its Schedule. Text: legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/96/made/data.xht.
The Schedule names 30 authorities: Adur, Basildon, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Cannock Chase, Cheltenham, Chorley, City of Lincoln, Crawley, East Sussex County Council, Exeter, Harlow, Hastings, Hyndburn, Ipswich, Norfolk County Council, Norwich, Pendle, Peterborough, Preston, Redditch, Rugby, Stevenage, Suffolk County Council, Tamworth, Thurrock, Welwyn Hatfield, West Lancashire, West Sussex County Council and Worthing.
Article 2 shifts the ordinary day of election for these authorities from 2026 to 2027. Under Article 3(1), councillors who would otherwise have retired on the fourth day after the 2026 ordinary day of election will instead retire on the fourth day after the 2027 ordinary day, unless they resign or their office otherwise becomes vacant beforehand. The statutory definition of the “ordinary day of election of councillors” remains that in section 37 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (first Thursday in May).
Article 3 creates transitional, shorter terms for councillors elected in 2027 so that cycles realign. For East Sussex, Norfolk, Suffolk and West Sussex county councils, councillors elected in 2027 will retire on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election in 2029. These four authorities were among those whose 2025 elections were previously postponed by the Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/137), and the new two‑year term completes that adjustment.
For the other authorities covered by the 2026 Order (excluding Thurrock), councillors elected in 2027 will retire on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election in 2030. This produces a three‑year initial term in order to return the councils to their established election years from 2030.
Thurrock follows a different path. Article 5(7) defers the commencement of the Borough of Thurrock (Scheme of Elections) Order 2024 so that the first whole‑council election under that scheme is held in 2027 rather than 2026, with subsequent ordinary elections to take place in 2031 and every four years thereafter. Under the 2024 scheme, all councillors are elected together for four‑year terms.
Article 4 addresses casual vacancies arising before the Order comes into force. Where a vacancy occurred before 27 February 2026 that would otherwise have been filled at the ordinary elections in 2026 under section 89(3) of the Local Government Act 1972, returning officers may run a by‑election at any point between 27 February and 7 May 2026. This temporarily disapplies the usual thirty‑five working day limit in section 89(1) and aligns the end‑date of service for any such by‑election winner to the fourth day after the ordinary day of election in 2027 by modifying section 90 for this purpose.
The Order also amends the commencement dates of several electoral change instruments so that boundary updates take effect alongside the deferred polls in 2027. These include the Norfolk (Electoral Changes) Order 2021, the Suffolk (Electoral Changes) Order 2022, the Wealden (Electoral Changes) Order 2024, the West Suffolk (Electoral Changes) Order 2023 and the Cheltenham (Electoral Changes) Order 2023. Consequential amendments are made to the Thurrock (Electoral Changes) Order 2025 so that its revised arrangements dovetail with the new timetable.
Further technical adjustments are made for Stevenage, Redditch, Basildon, Harlow and Cannock Chase, and separately for West Lancashire. For wards that elected in 2024, two councillors will retire at the next relevant point, determined by the smallest and next‑smallest vote totals. For wards electing in 2027, one councillor retires in 2030 and one in 2031, with the member receiving the smaller vote total retiring first. These rules preserve the intended rotation after the one‑year deferral.
For electoral administrators, the practical implications are immediate. Polling place bookings, nomination timetables, staff deployment plans and supplier contracts originally profiled for spring 2026 will need to be re‑profilled to 2027. Communications should explain the revised retirement dates and the special by‑election window to 7 May 2026, including how section 89’s usual thirty‑five day period is modified for this cohort.
Monitoring officers should review member allowances budgets and governance calendars to reflect the extended terms through 2027 and the shortened terms for those elected in 2027. Group whips and leaders may wish to revisit committee proportionality and annual meeting dates in light of the altered retirement pattern, particularly in authorities operating by thirds or halves outside Thurrock’s all‑out model.
Key statutory markers are clear: made on 3 February 2026, laid on 5 February 2026, in force from 27 February 2026. The ordinary day of election remains the first Thursday in May as provided by the Representation of the People Act 1983, and the temporary by‑election flexibility sits within the Local Government Act 1972 framework. The instrument is signed by Alison McGovern, Minister of State, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.