A government programme abolishing two-tier council structures, county councils sitting above district councils, and replacing them with single-tier unitary authorities across 21 areas of England.

Which areas are affected by Local Government Reorganisation 2026?

21 areas including Surrey, Essex, Southend, Thurrock, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton, Norfolk and Suffolk, with structural decisions announced March 2026.

Why are some mayoral elections postponed in 2026?

Six Devolution Priority Programme mayoral contests, including Cheshire, Cumbria, Essex and Sussex, are postponed to 2027 or 2028 because Local Government Reorganisation in those areas is not yet complete.

Background

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) is the programme launched by the Labour government in 2024 to abolish two-tier local government structures, county councils sitting above district, borough and city councils, and replace them with single-tier unitary authorities covering the same areas. The formal programme covers 21 areas across England. MHCLG announced structural decisions on 25 March 2026 for four clusters: Essex, Southend and Thurrock (5 new unitaries); Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton (5 unitaries); Norfolk (3 unitaries); and Suffolk (3 unitaries). Surrey was separated into East Surrey and West Surrey by the Structural Changes Order signed 9 March 2026.

LGR explains the most constitutionally unusual features of the 7 May 2026 elections. Surrey voters elect shadow councillors to authorities not yet legally constituted. In Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, county councils hold full elections while knowing they are scheduled for abolition, with no elected combined-authority mayor above them for the period of transition. Six Devolution Priority Programme mayoral contests have been postponed to 2027 or 2028 precisely because LGR is not yet complete. The government announced £63 million to support the 21 reorganisation areas when it reversed its election-postponement policy in February 2026.

The programme has entered its first legal challenge phase. On 18 May 2026, the Reform group at Essex County Council sent Secretary of State Steve Reed a pre-action protocol letter citing six legal grounds for judicial review, with Norfolk and Suffolk confirming parallel letters in the same week . The 14-day pre-action window sets up a potential 28-day permission stage. These are the first formal JR challenges to the LGR programme and the first direct tests of whether Reform-led councils can use litigation to delay their own abolition. The outcome will set a precedent for the remaining 17 unaffected LGR areas.