Leicestershire County Council elections WILL go ahead as planned in May.

The authority had made a request to postpone them for a year due to Government plans to create unitary authorities.

The County Council said last month it had been made in connection with areas where reorganisation of local government is needed to unlock or enable devolution. 

Leicester's borders could be expanded into the county - and local leaders had said they intend to put forward proposals that would see city boundaries extended into Leicestershire off the back of the Government's plans to reorganise local government structures.

But it was announced today (Wednesday) that East Sussex, West Sussex, Essex, Thurrock, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Suffolk and Surrey would be the only counties allowed to delay elections by 12 months.

Angela Rayner. Photo: © Fred Duval | Dreamstime.com

Angela Rayner, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary told the Commons: "The government's starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification for postponement.

"The bar is high and rightly so. I am only agreeing to half of the requests made.

"After careful consideration, I have only agreed to postpone elections in places where this is central to our manifesto promise to deliver devolution.

"We are not in the business of holding elections to bodies that won't exist and where we don't know what will replace them.

"This would be an expensive and irresponsible waste of taxpayers' money."

The newly-formed branch of Reform UK in North West Leicestershire had reacted angrily to suggestions that the elections could be scrapped - to the extent that it launched an online petition to make sure they went ahead.

A number of local figures have already spoken out against the possible scrapping of Leicestershire's districts and boroughs.

County Hall in Glenfield. Photo: Instantstreetview.com

Concerns have been raised locally that the proposals could create a political structure which is "too remote" and "inaccessible" for communities.

Leicestershire County Council has said it believed the changes would allow money to be saved, a "confusing system" to be simplified and front-line services protected. City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has also come out in support of the plan, saying it would be "very helpful" in the city council's efforts to combat its current financial difficulties.

This is partially because the local authority would be the recipient of council tax payments from the areas which would move within the city's expanded border and which currently pay their bill to county authorities.

Many of the areas which could be moved from the county to the city have relatively large proportions of properties which are in higher council tax bands and therefore contribute more in tax. Leicester City Council revealed in December its budget for the coming years, saying it would need to make "painful cuts", alongside land sales and big council tax rises, to stave off the threat of effective bankruptcy.

Under restructure plans, Leicestershire could lose its district and borough councils, with a single 'unitary' authority being set up for the county instead.

The changes could also see Rutland rejoined with Leicestershire, though this is yet to be decided. The city would remain largely separate under current local thinking, but could see its borders expanded to ensure the authority could remain viable, particularly in terms of its difficult financial position.

The Government has said the aim of the political rejig is to "streamline" processes and save money. However, concerns have been raised locally that the proposals could move decision-making further away from communities.

As part of the planning process, the Government said some local authorities would be allowed to postpone the upcoming council elections so they could focus on drawing up their new governance proposals.

This included in areas which needed the reorganisation of local government to happen in order to unlock or enable devolution – the transfer of additional decision-making powers, and potentially cash, from Westminster to local councils. County leaders said they wanted Leicestershire's elections to be considered for postponement so it could look at drawing up a new plan for local democracy, potentially putting it on a faster track to access devolution benefits.

• Additional reporting, Hannah Richardson, LRDS