‘Voters are the bosses’: MP launches petition calling for local elections to be held
It follows the government’s decision to postpone this year’s Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council elections.
An MP has launched a petition calling for local elections to be held.
Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, has criticised the Government’s decision to postpone this year’s Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council elections.
Both authorities were scheduled to hold their elections in May, but the Government said enough information was provided on how delaying them would free up resources essential to carrying out local government reforms.
Mr Timothy, who raised his concerns over delaying elections in the House of Commons, launched a petition yesterday calling on the elections to be kept.
He said: “In a democracy, politicians must not run and hide from voters. We must welcome elections – win or lose – because the people are in charge. Not councillors. Not ministers. Not council officers. Not civil servants.
“The Government’s rushed, badly-timed and botched approach to local government reform has created this mess.
“But putting off May’s county council elections compounds the mistake, treats voters with contempt and suggests their consent is optional. It is not. The voters are the bosses.”
Suffolk County Council elections have now been delayed twice in a row, with most current councillors having been elected in 2021 for a four-year term.
In May next year, elections will be for a new system of local government, with one or more unitary authorities, while the existing councils will be wound down.