West Sussex County Council and Crawley Borough Council have both responded to a letter from the Government, asking for their view on whether local elections should proceed in May in preparation for local government reform. 

The County Council has requested holding one set of elections in 2027 to save costs; this would mean deferring the County Council elections scheduled for this year and bringing forward the Mayoral elections planned for 2028. 

Crawley Borough Council has arranged an Extraordinary Full Council meeting on Wednesday to debate whether to request the postponement of this year’s borough elections.

The Government wants a response by this Thursday 15th January, from councils wishing to defer elections.