The decision to U-turn on plans to delay council elections has been met with fury in some parts.
Reed is facing calls to resign over the fiasco (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed has been branded a “b***ard” and “two-faced bully” as the pressure mounts on the government following their latest U-turn. Yesterday, the government abandoned plans to postpone elections across 30 councils this May after receiving advice from lawyers following a legal challenge from Reform UK.
The government had originally delayed elections because of plans for wide scale reorganisation of how local government is run. But the move was met with fierce criticism, with opponents accusing the government of denying millions of people their electoral rights. The decision to backtrack leaves local government reorganisation plans in jeopardy and has caused anger amongst local politicians across the country.
Kay Mason Billig labelled Reed a ‘b***ard’ (Image: -)
Kay Mason Billig, the Tory leader of Norfolk county council pulled no punches in her assessment of the fiasco and Reed in particular, referencing 1980s ITV series The New Statesman, in her condemnation of the minister.
She said: “I can now say what I like about the Secretary of State, I’ve never met him or spoken to him but I know him to be a two-faced bully who doesn’t care about Norfolk, who doesn’t care about local government, who doesn’t even care about his own Labour councillors.”
She added: “I’d really like to quote Rik Mayall at this point, what an utter, utter b***ard.”
Rik Mayall played Egocentric Conservative MP Alan B’Stard in the hit tv show which ran until the 1990s.
Mrs Mason Billig expressed fears that plans to merge Norfolk council council with other authorities could now be shelved, adding: “10 years of work potentially down the pan as a result of this incompetent government.”
Matthew Hicks, leader of Tory-run Suffolk County Council said local authorities were experiencing “whiplash” as major Government decisions “shift repeatedly and without warning”.
“This uncertainty makes it almost impossible to plan effectively, deliver stability for residents, or provide clarity for our staff and partners,” he said.
Reform UK launched a legal challenge against the delays (Image: Getty)
“Certainly, as we previously set out in our letter to ministers, this makes delivering one new unitary council for Suffolk more difficult, and three nigh-on impossible.”
Meanwhile, the leader of Labour-run Thurrock Council Lynn Worrall said it was “disappointing that this decision has been reversed so late in the day”.
Laura Lock, deputy chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, said: “These teams now face an uphill struggle to catch up to where they should be. They have paused planning to avoid unnecessary cost, but this means they are now playing catch-up.”
Stephen Kinnock has sought to defend Mr Reed, claiming that he is doing “an excellent job” amid widespread criticism.
Speaking to broadcasters on Tuesday morning, care minister Mr Kinnock said the Government had received legal advice about its original plan to postpone the votes which initially “said that we could do so”, but that the advice had 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,” he told LBC.
Asked whether Mr Reed should consider his position, he told Sky News: “Steve Reed is doing an excellent job as Secretary of State, pushing through the Pride in Place programme, pushing through renters’ reforms, bulldozing all of the bureaucracy and regulations that stops us building things in this country.
In a letter to council leaders on Monday, the Cabinet minister said the Government had written to the High Court confirming he was withdrawing the decision “in light of recent legal advice”.
Some £63 million will be made available to local authorities undergoing structural changes, he said.
“I recognise that many of the local councils undergoing reorganisation voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under as we seek to deliver the most ambitious reforms of local government in a generation,” Mr Reed said.
“My officials will be in touch with those affected councils to understand if any further practical support will be required.”
The Government has agreed to pay Reform UK’s legal costs after the party challenged the initial decision to postpone the votes.
Steve Reed has been approached for comment.
