There have been quite a few misleading comments circulating lately on social media claiming that the local elections in County Durham will be either postponed or cancelled this year.
These comments appear to have originated from politically motivated sources that are either ill-informed, those that don't understand how governance arrangements work or from those organisations that are simply seeking to create division and confusion by spreading misinformation they know isn't true.
To clarify the position in County Durham I've received a statement from Durham County Council confirming that the local elections in County Durham were never at risk of cancellation, along with further confirmation that the local elections are scheduled to go ahead on 1 May 2025 as planned:
Further to the publication of the Government’s Devolution White Paper on 16 December 2024, we have become aware of some speculation that the County Council elections in May 2025 will be postponed.
The White Paper sets out the Government’s expectations for all two-tier areas and smaller or failing unitary councils to develop proposals for re-organisation. After publication of the White Paper, the Minister for Local Government wrote to the leaders of counties and districts in two tier (County and district) areas seeking a clear commitment to devolution and re-organisation on or before 10 January 2025 in order for elections to be postponed.
The local government re-organisation implemented in 2009 created a single tier of local government in County Durham. Therefore, the expectations for local government re-organisation and potential for elections to be postponed does not apply to Durham County Council. The elections will take place on Thursday 1 May 2025 as planned.
