Clash over Lancashire local elections 2026 as devolution deal looms

Votes being counted at King George's Hall in Blackburn following the May 6 local elections
-Credit:BwD Council


Blackburn with Darwen Council’s leader has been accused of ‘stifling democracy’ after he refused to rule out cancelling the borough’s next scheduled local elections in 2026 because of Lancashire devolution plans. Tory group boss Cllr John Slater tackled Cllr Phil Riley on the issue at the authority’s full Council Forum meeting.

His intervention followed Rossendale and Darwen Labour MP Andy MacNae expressing concern that Lancashire County Council was pressing ahead with its elections in May risking delaying government plans for devolution and local government reorganisation. The county elects councillors for a four-year term.

Blackburn with Darwen has no borough elections, which affect one-third of its wards, scheduled for this year. Cllr Slater asked Cllr Riley during Thursday’s meeting: “I raise devolution and local government re-organisation.

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“Obviously we’ve fought hard for the Lancashire Combined Authority and we welcome that despite the pathetic attempts from the MP for Rossendale to try and stop the county council elections. Will you now give the people of this borough an assurance that he won’t try and stifle democracy and that in 2026, 2027 and 2028 we will be having local elections?”

Cllr Riley replied: “The simple answer is no. I won’t give you that assurance because I don’t think we have got any sense of where that’s going to go.

“By the way that we are heading by 2027 we could well be in the world of voting for a completely different authority altogether. I think there is a strong possibility that your question may be valid in 2026 and it would be silly of me now to say that we will have elections.

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“I am puzzled why my colleagues at Lancashire County Council are one of only three Conservative Councils who have chosen to have their county elections this year out of 21. It costs around about £2million for the county council to hold those elections and realistically they are having elections for a body that may not exist not exist for much longer than a year or two.”

After the meeting Cllr Slater said: “Cllr Riley is using devolution as an excuse to stifle democracy. He is running scared of losing control of the council to the 4Bwd Group and the Conservatives taking back Darwen.”

Cllr Riley responded by saying: “This question feels very, very premature. There are very very many developments which would be needed before it becomes a valid question."

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