Councillor says Labour have made 'an absolute mess' of LGR
A Hucknall councillor has welcomed news that local elections now appear set to go ahead next May, while accusing the Labour Government of creating ‘expensive chaos’ over its plans to reorganise local government.
The Government has paused local government reorganisation (LGR) across Nottinghamshire while the process is reviewed following legal concerns.
The latest announcement means elections in May 2027 are expected to take place on existing council boundaries, rather than elections to the new shadow unitary authorities previously planned.
Only weeks ago, councils across Nottinghamshire had been preparing to press ahead with plans to replace the existing nine councils with two large unitary authorities from April 2028.
The Government had selected a proposal which would have seen Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Mansfield and Newark and Sherwood combined with parts of Gedling, Broxtowe and Rushcliffe.
Coun Lee Waters (Ash Ind), who represents Hucknall Central on Ashfield Council, said he was pleased residents were now likely to get a vote on the future of the authority next May, but criticised the way the process had been handled.
He said: “I’m pleased that democracy appears to have won out.
“But what an absolute mess Labour has made of this.
“Councils have spent months preparing for reorganisation.
"Officer time, consultants, new posts, meetings and countless hours of work have gone into a process which the Government has now suddenly slammed the brakes on.
“That is public money and public sector time which could have been spent concentrating on the services residents actually use.
“You cannot run local government by constantly changing direction.
"People expect potholes fixed, streets cleaned and decent services.
"They do not expect taxpayers to keep picking up the bill for Government chaos.”
Nottinghamshire Council had already reported spending £179,000 on consultancy support for developing its own LGR proposal alone, separate from costs shared between the nine councils.
Ashfield had also agreed arrangements including implementation managers and the creation of an LGR director post as preparations intensified.
Coun Waters added: “If Labour wants to reorganise councils, it needs to make the case, get the law right and have a clear plan before spending taxpayers’ money.
“For now, I’m pleased Hucknall residents look set to have their democratic say in May 2027.
"After all this uncertainty, they deserve that.”