Warwickshire council 2025 election update as huge decision made
Warwickshire County Council's leader is forging ahead with plans that could see this year's local elections delayed. Despite pleas from district and borough council leaders, Shire Hall leader councillor Izzi Seccombe will be contacting the government about creating a unitary authority.
In doing so, it could spell the end of all of the borough and district councils, ending the current two-tier system in place across the county. In the more immediate future, it could see the planned local county council elections in May of this year to be postponed.
Under government plans, two-tier council areas would be abolished - and instead every area in England could be covered by 'strategic authorities'. These would have at least 500,000 residents.
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Cllr Seccombe said she wanted Warwickshire to be among the first to indicate interest in becoming a unitary authority. At a public meeting on Friday (January 10) she took the decision to move forward with local government reforms.
In a statement, she said: "Taking all things into account and thinking about the longer term interests of Warwickshire and the need for us to be in a position to shape our future and not be done to, I am approving the resolution set out in the papers; that I, as the Leader of the Council respond to the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution signalling the County Council’s willingness to be considered for delivering local government reorganisation and devolution to the government’s ambitious timeframe and recognising that, as a consequence, the government may decide that it is necessary to postpone the May 2025 County Council elections."
Last week, Leaders of North Warwickshire Borough Council, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Stratford-on-Avon District Council and Warwick District Council sent an urgent message to the Shire Hall leader not to ask for the postponement.
The four leaders warned that if the decision is made to forge ahead with the plan, they will we 'make it clear' to the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution they do not support the proposal from the county council.