Local election U-turn 'not ideal', Minister admits but insists Starmer is the right person to lead the country

The Government announced its latest policy U-turn on Monday, after telling dozens of councils they would not have ballots this year ahead of planned local government reorganisation.

The move has drawn criticism as councils now face a “race against time” to organise the reinstated local elections.

The deputy chief executive of the professional body for election administrators said returning officers and other election staff had lost “months” of planning for the elections now taking place in 30 council areas on May 7.

Care Minister Stephen Kinnock has defended the decision, saying the government was faced with a change of legal advice, but admitted it is a "shame".

He told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: "I agree that when the legal advice changes, you've got to change your position."

He defended reforms introduced by the government, which he says were aimed at streamlining the local election process.

Read more: Starmer warned councils face 'race against time' to be ready for May local elections after 14th major U-turn

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"Why do we need two chief executives in some areas? Why do we need two finance directors? It's just duplication and bureaucracy. We don't need it, so we've got to reform it," Mr Kinnock said.

He said that the local authorities told the government they would struggle to implement the reforms while also holding local elections, so they "listened to that" and postponed the elections.

He continued: "We of course would only put that through on the basis of legal advice which said that we could do so. That legal advice has now changed.

"That is not ideal. I'm not going to stand here and pretend to you that it is. But we're a government that works with the rule of law."

Nick questioned the minister, stating that the decision to postpone the elections was challenged "from day one", so he wondered why the government had waited "until the very last moment" to announce the change.

Mr Kinnock referred back to changing legal advice, and said: "The legal advice changed because of the legal challenge that we received.

"We now have to move forward. We will continue with these reforms, and two to three years down the line, I think people will really see and feel the benefits of [them]."

Nigel Farage's Reform UK party had brought a legal challenge, due to be heard on Thursday, which triggered the legal advice behind the government’s U-turn.

Some £63 million will be made available to local authorities who are undergoing changes.

Mr Kinnock rejected Nick's assertions that several U-turns by the government have been a "shambles".

He said: "I accept that things have to change next. And we've had some very big changes in number 10, which I'm sure you will have followed in recent days and weeks.

"It means now really getting back to core Labour values of building an economy that works for everyone, having an industrial strategy that really protects our steel industry, ramping up our engagement with the European Union to get that great growth and to have proper relationships with partners and allies in this dangerous and turbulent world in which we live.

"That is what we're going to see with this government going forward over the coming weeks and months."

Mr Kinnock denied that the party needed a new leader and backed Sir Keir to lead the country.

He said: "Keir. Starmer is absolutely the right man to take us forward. I think we've seen, we've, we've seen, seen over recent years."

City councils in Lincoln, Exeter, Norwich, Peterborough and Preston had been among those where ballots were not to take place on May 7, alongside several districts such as Cannock Chase, Harlow, Welwyn Hatfield and West Lancashire.

Polling day had also been postponed for county council voters in East Sussex, West Sussex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described the reversal as “predictable chaos from a useless Government that cannot make basic decisions”.