Local Government Secretary Steve Reed prompted criticism last month when he announced the polls would be pushed back following “arguments made about capacity, reorganisation and democracy” amid a drive to reorganise local authorities in England.
But on Monday, a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) spokesperson said: “Following legal advice, the Government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.
“Providing certainty to councils about their local elections is now the most crucial thing and all local elections will now go ahead in May 2026.”
Nigel Farage said the Government’s decision was a victory for Reform UK after his party announced it was taking legal action against the initial move.
In a court order published in January, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the party was seeking an order temporarily blocking changing the date of forthcoming elections pending the hearing of the full legal challenge.
Reform UK had asked the court to determine the full claim before the end of March, when notices of polls are published. Another hearing had been set for this week.
After the U-turn was announced, Mr Farage accused Mr Reed of acting “illegally” in attempting to postpone elections.
The Reform UK leader said: “I think the principle of no taxation without representation is a very well-known one through political history, and that’s what was happening here.
“We’d even seen a few people starting to refuse to pay their council tax up and down the country.
“But what I do think now is the minister, Steve Reed, has clearly acted illegally, and given that the Government’s now given in, knew they’d lose to us in court, I think Steve Reed’s question as a minister should now be debated.”
Mr Farage added: “We took a risk on this, but we knew it was the right thing to do. I thought we’d get a partial victory.
“I thought ones that were delayed for a second year in a row, we’d probably win that. But this is now a complete victory, and there’ll be a lot of people up down the country very grateful to us.”
The Conservative leader of Suffolk County Council, where elections had been postponed, said local authorities were “experiencing whiplash” from Government decisions which make it “almost impossible” to plan effectively for residents.
Councillor Matthew Hicks, said: “Local councils across the country are experiencing whiplash as major Government decisions shift repeatedly and without warning.
“This uncertainty makes it almost impossible to plan effectively, deliver stability for residents, or provide clarity for our staff and partners.
“There is now a significant question mark over the Government’s wider agenda for devolution and local government reorganisation.
“Certainly, as we previously set out in our letter to ministers, this makes delivering one new unitary council for Suffolk more difficult, and three nigh on impossible.
“Our priority in Suffolk remains to deliver reliable services, protect residents, and ensure our communities are not disadvantaged by national uncertainty.”
It is the 14th U-turn from the Labour government since the party came to power in July 2024.
Sir Ed Davey said the Government had been “forced into a humiliating U-turn” after reversing its decision to postpone some local elections.
The Liberal Democrats leader said: “The Liberal Democrats have fought tooth and nail to stop this stitch-up and the Government has been forced into a humiliating U-turn.
“Labour are terrified of Reform and we are the only party willing to stand up to Farage and beat him, as we do week after week in council by-elections. “We cannot allow the Government to cancel elections on a whim ever again.
