"No-one in this borough is more angry with this prime minister than me."
"There is now no doubt that LGR [local government reorganisation] in Essex is over."
"Local government was put in an impossible position by sheer incompetence from central government."
"LGR is dead. The government has just folded. They made themselves a total laughing stock."
The government initially agreed to cancel local elections to allow councils to focus on a radical local government reorganisation that would create fewer, all-purpose unitary councils. Basildon Council requested its election be postponed and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed approved delays until 2027, citing concerns about running elections for authorities due to be abolished. Reed later reversed the decision ahead of Reform UK's legal challenge. Basildon leaders expressed anger and blamed central government incompetence, with calls that LGR in Essex is now over. Opposition parties criticised Labour for seeking the cancellation. A March decision will determine whether Essex moves to three to five unitary councils, with elections expected in May 2027.
Read at www.bbc.com
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