The Guardian view on England’s cancelled elections: hardly a vote of confidence | Editorial

SUppose, which I heard that the upcoming elections were canceled by the government. How do you interact with this news? Perhaps with disbelief and doubt that it was fake news. Most likely with anger. Perhaps also with Ferreon of fear. Perhaps a mixture of three. After all, something like this is not supposed to happen in a stable democracy like us, right?

However, this week, it really happened. It was even announced in Parliament. It happened when Angela RainerDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Communities, decree That nine local English authorities, where the council elections were scheduled to take place as usual this year on Thursday in May, will not now go to opinion polls after all.

This is a dangerous blow to democracy. The fact that previous governments did not mitigate something similar at times. Although he was stripped of many powers and starvation over the years, the local government is well involved. It has strong and legitimacy. Local elections can change the life of issues ranging from schools to care. If there is nothing else, their results are also examined accurately by experts such as Sir John Cortis What they say about the political mood of the nation on a larger scale.

Mrs. Rainer’s reason for stopping the 2025 elections is that she is in the middle of the road by reforming the local government structure in England. In December, she told the Council of the Council, provinces and units in England To reformulate herself In a more organized pattern than one -level authorities, each of which has a population of about half a million voters, headed by elected mayors.

The elections will continue on May 1 this year in many places, including 14 boycott councils in England. The elections that were eventually canceled will occur in May 2026, as soon as the new authorities are in place, and on the same day, such as the upcoming Scottish elections and the Welsh SEEDD elections. However, this year’s canceled elections are barely simple; They include dense places such as Essex (home to about 1.5 million people), hambashire (1.4 million) and Norfolk (900000). It is not surprising that the well -appointed parties there this year, such as liberal democrats and UK reform, cry.

There is no doubt of work changes. England is very central. The local government is very weak. Successive repairs have left a lot of mixture. But the new Mrs. Rainer, more Napoleon The structure is not a treatment. It will be strengthened from the beginning unless the local government financing is repaired. Rachel Reeves The last decision Certainly changing the rules of public investment “Green Book” in the treasury will definitely help, especially in the north. But it is only a first step.

The decisive question is whether Mrs. Rainer is seriously ready to work with other political parties in nations, regions and localities. The results of the transferred elections may be raised, when it is finally done in 2026, this question is very flagrantly, especially if reform appears in the United Kingdom and the Scottish National Party among the winners. Mrs. Rainer sometimes looks as if she sees that the English transmission is just a means of delivery exhaustion Government policies at the local level. But this is a rigid, not sustainable approach. If the local government is simply seen as an agent to connect Whitehall and not as a legal expression, and sometimes an alternative and opponent of local difference, Mrs. Rayner’s changes risk practicing previous efforts and virtue of vine.

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