Third delay of elections in Northampton cannot be ruled out

Voters in Northampton have not visited the polling booth to elect borough councillors since 2015, and have seen their chances to vote scrapped in both 2019 and 2020.

The 2019 elections were delayed by a year due to the impending reorganisation of local government following the financial crisis at Northamptonshire County Council. They were then shelved for a further 12 months following the coronavirus outbreak last year, which put paid to votes across the entire country.

Local elections are now scheduled for May 2021, shortly before which the existing councils in the area will be scrapped and replaced by a new, much larger unitary authority known as West Northamptonshire Council.

But the lingering threat of COVID means that Northampton Borough Council was unable to definitively rule out yet another postponement at its latest meeting on November 2.

Responding to a question from Labour councillor Cathrine Russell as to how the authority was ensuring the elections would go ahead, the Conservative deputy leader of the council Phil Larratt said: “This council is working on the premise that elections will take place as scheduled in May 2021, and our elections team is actively engaged in election planning for triple elections then.

“It is possible that there may be changes to the scheduled elections due to COVID, but this is a matter for parliament as legislation may be required depending on what adjustments are needed. This council will continue to support fully the democratic process, working positively with any legal requirements.”

There has not been any indication yet from the Government that they have any plans to scrap the 2021 elections. Eyes were no doubt on the United States of America this week, where the population turned out in huge numbers to vote during the pandemic. Turnout was at the highest level since 1900, and was largely due to a significant number of mail ballot votes.