DEVON County Council has voted in favour of postponing local elections in May, prompting claims from opponents the move represents “democracy denied”.

The decision to apply to delay this year’s county council ballot comes amid the rush among local authorities to respond to the government’s plans for the reorganisation of local councils.

Last month Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced plans to create larger, unitary-style authorities to replace the two-tier system that exists in various places, including Devon.

The county has eight district councils and a county council that oversee different services across most of the area, except Plymouth and Torbay which are already separate unitary authorities running all their services.

The government is allowing local authorities to apply to postpone local elections if they can either submit plans by May, or pledge to join a Devolution Priority Programme which give them until the autumn.

At an extraordinary meeting of Devon’s full council on Thursday, January 9, 37 members voted to apply to postpone the election. Twelve councillors voted against.

The vote included a Labour amendment proposed by Cllr Carol Whitton (Labour, St David’s and Haven Banks) that reinforced the notion of Devon County Council working with other councils and organisations such as the NHS to “develop plans for sustainable unitary structures”.

The government will assess Devon’s application to delay the elections, which if approved, could mean the ballot is held in May 2026.

Cllr James McInnes (Conservative, Hatherleigh and Chagford) wants the council to be on the “front foot” in terms of its likely reorganisation, and believes that holding an election and inducting new councillors while trying to navigate a major local government reorganisation could be challenging.

“I can say ‘let’s sit in the back row and wait to be done to’, or we can decide this is what the government wants so let’s get on with it and I believe we need to get on with it.”

He continued: “I want to be in the fast-track process and postponing the elections allows us to get on with the job.”

Cllr McInnes hit back at claims from district council leaders that his move to delay the elections is a political land-grab.

“It’s very clear that the government wants to sweep away county and district councils and to bring in unitary authorities across England and that’s painful for county and district councillors,” he added.

“The county council is not land-grabbing and we are being swept away like the districts. It is a very emotional thing for everyone.”

Cllr Caroline Leaver (Liberal Democrat, Barnstaple South) said the fast-track process was meant for areas with an agreed plan, which she felt Devon did not have.

“What this report is asking us to approve is a plan where there is no plan,” she said.

“And not only is there not a plan but there is no agreement between upper-tier authorities about what that plan may be.”

Others suggested there is not a clear plan for how Devon’s councils might be reorganised, citing a joint statement from district council leaders that they did not support the idea of one mega-council for the county.

Cllr Leaver added that she did not think the government is “remotely interested” in Devon, citing the county’s loss of £10 million in a rural grant that was cut by Westminster last year.

She suggested Devon’s Conservatives had “not delivered for Devon” given the council’s children’s services is rated inadequate by Ofsted and the significant financial deficit in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.

“Would we trust this group of people who have not delivered for Devon and have not talked to district councillors and who are uninterested in the democratic mandate?,” she asked.

“Would we trust them to take [devolution] plans forward, no, and I think the idea of postponing the elections is democracy denied and I will be voting against it.”

Councillor Rob Hannaford (Independent, Exwick and St Thomas), a former Labour member, said while it was “quite an emotional day”, he agreed with Cllr McInnes.

“This is not where I would choose to be, but we are where we are and we need to be proactive and own the situation rather than have something done to us.”

He added he had been a county councillor for 20 years and had previously voted against the idea of a unitary council for Devon because it was too large, and had voted against Exeter’s previous bid because it was too small.

“This proposal is sensible and prudent, and if we don’t do it then it could be a recipe for disaster,” he said.

Others in support of the government’s moves to reorganise councils said the proposed changes made sense and felt that it made sense for Devon apply to delay the May ballot so that it could, in partnership with other councils, try and have greater control over the future make-up of councils in the county.

However, other opponents felt that the county council elections should go ahead this spring because new councillors could bring fresh thinking and perspectives to the reorganisation.

Bradley Gerrard