'Protest' as Redditch council discusses cancelling 2026 election
The police were called out - but have confirmed no criminal offences had been committed
Redditch Borough Council held an extraordinary meeting last night, 13th January, to discuss plans to cancel local elections this May.
Because of the high turnout, the authority opted to use an additional room at Oakenshaw Community Centre - which reports show prompted 'protests' from residents expressing their concern over the proposed cancellation.
There were claims the meeting 'undermined democratic processes' - with reports of the police being called to the scene.
This all comes after a letter from the Government was written to the 63 Councils affected by elections in May 2026 to submit their views on their potential postponement with Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in mind.
The deadline for Councils to respond is midnight on January 15 which is why the extraordinary meeting was called.
Redditch Borough Council Leader Cllr Sharon Harvey said: “We have been invited, along with the other Councils which have elections in May to submit our views.
“It is important that both options be considered by all Members on Thursday and our collective decision sent to the Government.”
In a post on Facebook last night (14/1), Redditch Conservatives said: "Tonight Redditch Borough Council held an extraordinary meeting to decide if the elections are to be cancelled this May.
"A protest was held by residents who are furious at the idea that democracy is a commodity you can cancel when inconvenient. The meeting was so busy that the extra room at Oakenshaw Community Centre needed to be used.
"Unfortunately as we feared, Labour had already decided to cancel the elections and this whole meeting was just a formality. None of the Labour Councillors had the guts come out to speak to the residents unlike our Conservative group who spent time chatting to the protestors."
After last night's meeting, the council decided to proceed with cancelling the elections - saving an estimated £200,000.
A statement from the police read: "West Mercia Police received a report of a disturbance at Oakenshaw Community Centre in Redditch yesterday evening (Tuesday 13 January).
"Officers attended and it was established that no criminal offences had been committed."
The local authority has confirmed they will be releasing a statement on the matter shortly.