West Sussex MP unhappy with local government reoganisation uncertainty

Plans to reorganise local government across Sussex and Hampshire have been thrown into further uncertainty after ministers launched a review following new legal advice.

The Government has paused plans affecting West Sussex and East Sussex, while its previous decision on the reorganisation of councils in Hampshire has been withdrawn and will also be reviewed.

The move was announced in the House of Commons on Monday, 7 September, by Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner, following what the Government described as “updated and privileged legal advice”.

West Sussex had been one of the areas still awaiting a final decision on the shape of new councils. Its proposals will now be considered as part of the review.

Plans covering East Sussex and Brighton and Hove are among 14 reorganisation decisions which have been paused, while decisions already made for Hampshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk have been withdrawn.

The Government says the review will examine whether the process followed so far is legally robust and whether the proposals remain consistent with the priorities of the new administration.

Ms Rayner told MPs she wanted to satisfy herself “that the right process is in place, that it is robust, and of course complies with the law”.

She said she also wanted to test whether the proposals for local government reorganisation met the priorities of the new administration and Prime Minister.

The Government has confirmed that local elections scheduled for May 2027 will still take place using existing council boundaries while the review is carried out.

In West Sussex, that means elections to existing district councils, including Chichester, Horsham and Arun, will go ahead as currently constituted.

The latest announcement has been criticised by Conservative MP for Arundel and South Downs Andrew Griffith, who has repeatedly opposed the proposed changes.

Mr Griffith described the handling of the process as “shambolic and reckless” and said “now is the time for them to give up and leave West Sussex alone for good”.

In June, Mr Griffith argued that there was no clear consensus among local authorities over the proposed changes and said ministers had failed to demonstrate sufficient public support for such a significant restructuring of local government.

He called for the plans to be abandoned, arguing that continuing with reorganisation risked additional costs and disruption to council services.

Andrew Griffith MP said: “I have consistently warned the Government that its local government reorganisation plans were being rushed out with little process or thinking behind them.

“In June, I called on ministers to release the technical reports and supporting data behind their proposals, but they were unable to do so. It now seems that I was proved right, with the Government having to pause the process and review where it went wrong.

“Rather than another review, Angela Rayner should shelve these plans altogether and stop wasting everyone’s time and money for something Sussex does not want!”

The Government has not cancelled local government reorganisation altogether. Ministers say the review will consider the affected proposals before decisions are made on how the programme should proceed.

Surrey is not affected by the latest review, with the new East Surrey and West Surrey unitary authorities still due to come into operation in April 2027.

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