AN announcement from the government today (Thursday, 22 January) has confirmed that it has approved cancellation of the scheduled 'all-out' elections in Thurrock in May.

The statement from minister Steve Reed and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) comes despite a judicial review set to take place in the High Court next month, after Reform UK was allowed to state its case that the government has acted improperly.

Elections are also set to be cancelled at Basildon District Council – but they will take place in Southend and for Essex County Council.

The government statement in full can be read here.

The decision to hold elections in Southend and Essex, puts a huge spanner in Thurrock Council's contention that it needs to cancel because otherwise it will not have the capacity to work with Essex and Southend over a planned shadow authority, due to come into being in 2027.

Southend officers and councillors and their counterparts cannot now make any firm commitments as the authorities could be under a new political leadership after May 7 – with new directives given to its officers.

Effectively the reason Thurrock's Labour leadership said wanted elections was to allow that liaison work to form a new shadow authority to press ahead. It said it was not about 'avoiding a vote' but for expediency of LGR. That is an argument that now has a lot less weight behind it and it seems improbable that Southend or Essex will want to make decisions ahead of what could be a significant administrative change in May.

In December 63 councils involved in local government reorganisation were invited to submit representations to the MHCLG setting out whether cancelling this year's elections was needed to free up capacity to deliver LGR.

Councils had until 15 January to seek a delay and 29 were found to have done so.

On Monday the government wrote to four councils asking them to clarify their stance and be "explicit". One of those is believed to have been Essex, which presented a statement remarkable for the paucity of information and which called on the go ernment to make the decision. Norfolk CC is the only one of these councils set to have their elections postponed.

Earlier this week Reform UK was granted permission for a judicial review to challenge the decision. A court date is scheduled for next month.

If today's decision stands, councillors will have their terms extended. Elections to new unitary authorities will then take place next year and those authorities will operate in shadow form until April 2028.

Thurrock councillors who will get an extra year unless they opt to resign and create a by-election are:-

Aveley and Uplands: Srikanth Panjala (Labour); Belhus: George Coxshall (Conservative); Chadwell St Mary: Sara Muldowney (Labour ); Grays Riverside: Martin Kerin (Labour); Grays Thurrock: Lynn Worrall   (Labour); Little Thurrock Blackshots: Ben Maney (Conservative); Little Thurrock Rectory: Rob Gledhill (Conservative); Ockendon: Paul Arnold (Conservative); Orsett: Barry Johnson (Conservative); South Chafford: Sue Shinnick (Labour); Stanford East and Corringham Town: Alex Anderson (Reform); Stifford Clays: Elizabeth Rigby (Conservative); The Homesteads: James Halden (Conservative); Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park: John Allen (Independent); Tilbury St Chads: Steve Liddiard (Labour); West Thurrock and South Stifford: Qaisar Abbas (Conservative).

Today, communities secretary Mr Reed said: "Cutting through two-tier bureaucracy means faster decisions on housing, simpler access to services, and more money going to potholes, tackling crime and caring for older people instead of being lost to duplication. That's what residents want and that's what reorganisation will achieve."

Cllr Alex Anderson, leader of Thurrock Reform, said: "Just a couple of months ago a Labour Minister declared 'we will not cancel elections in Thurrock'. These clowns quite literally promise one thing, then do the complete opposite.

"Pending Reform's judicial review, it would seem for the foreseeable future Thurrock will continue to be run by a Labour Party too scared to face the electorate. Clearly, for at least some socialists, money talks."

Cllr Neil Speight, spokesperson the Non Political Alliance of Independent Councillors said: "The whole purpose of Labour's vote against elections was supposed to be to ensure that LGR work continued at pace to set up a shadow authority. With the other two unitary authorities who make up two thirds of the working group now effectiveley hog-tied, Thurrock Labour's argument is spurious. Ironically, had they backed my proposal for elections by thirds they would have had an honest chance of keeping control - now they are doing it by squatting on seats."

Thurrock Council and the leaders of Labour and Conservative groups have been invited to comment.

Elections where legislation will be brought forward to postpone

Adur DC

Basildon BC

Blackburn with Darwen Council

Burnley BC

Cannock Chase DC

Cheltenham BC

Chorley BC

City of Lincoln Council

Crawley BC

East Sussex CC

Exeter City Council

Harlow DC

Hastings BC

Hyndburn BC

Ipswich BC

Norfolk CC

Norwich City Council

Peterborough City Council

Preston City Council

Redditch BC

Rugby BC

Stevenage BC

Suffolk CC

Tamworth BC

Thurrock Council

Welwyn Hatfield BC

West Lancashire BC

West Sussex CC

Worthing BC

Elections that are going ahead

Basingstoke and Deane BC

Brentwood BC

Broxbourne BC

Cambridge City Council

Cherwell DC

Colchester City Council

Eastleigh BC

Epping Forest DC

Essex CC

Fareham BC

Gosport BC

Hampshire CC

Hart DC

Havant BC

Huntingdonshire DC

Isle of Wight Council

Newcastle-under-Lyme BC

North East Lincolnshire Council

Nuneaton and Bedworth BC

Oxford City Council

Pendle BC

Plymouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council

Rochford DC

Rushmoor BC

South Cambridgeshire DC

Southampton City Council

Southend-on-Sea City Council

St Albans City and DC

Three Rivers DC

Tunbridge Wells BC

Watford BC

West Oxfordshire DC

Winchester City Council