County council elections for around 1.5 million voters in East and West Sussex are likely to be postponed for a second time, following fresh guidance from the government.
Ministers have invited councils dealing with local government reorganisation to cancel local elections scheduled for next May if they believe it is necessary. The move is intended to give authorities greater flexibility as they prepare for major structural changes, including the creation of new unitary councils.
Both East Sussex County Council and West Sussex County Council have already asked to delay elections that had been rescheduled for May next year. Those elections were originally due to take place in May this year but were cancelled as Sussex prepared for devolution and wider reform of local government.
The first election for a Mayor of Sussex and Brighton has also been delayed, with the inaugural vote now not expected to take place until 2028.
Last year’s cancellation of county council elections sparked protests across Sussex, led mainly by the Green Party, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK. Opposition groups argued the delay denied voters a chance to challenge Conservative control of the county councils.
The government has now opened the door for all councils undergoing reorganisation to apply for further delays, with a deadline of 15 January for submissions. That has created uncertainty over whether some district and borough elections will go ahead as planned.
Local elections in areas including Worthing, Adur, Crawley and Hastings could now be affected, depending on whether further postponement requests are made and approved.
The government says the approach is designed to avoid the complexity and cost of holding elections for councils that may soon be abolished or significantly restructured. However, critics argue repeated delays risk weakening local democratic accountability.
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