Prime Minister Refuses to Guarantee Local Elections Will Go Ahead Next May

Woking’s MP, Will Forster, has slammed the Prime Minister for refusing to guarantee that local elections will take place next May - leaving voters in the dark over whether they’ll get their say at the ballot box.

Speaking in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Forster demanded a cast iron guarantee that voters in Woking, and across the country, would not lose their democratic right to vote.

It comes after The Times reported that local elections could be delayed for the second year running. While the Leader of Surrey County Council has made clear he has not asked for elections in Surrey to be cancelled, other Conservative figures have reportedly done so elsewhere.

In response, the Prime Minister refused to rule out a delay - saying only that his government had inherited a bad local government position and would be setting out the planned timetable shortly. 

Will Forster said:

“It’s astonishing that the Prime Minister can’t even guarantee people the right to vote next May.

“People in Woking deserve their say at the ballot box — democracy must never be put on hold.”

Forster added that the uncertainty was “deeply worrying” and accused the government of “ducking accountability.”