What’s happening to election plans across the South East?
23 January 2026 | Kirsty Hunt
You may have heard that some councils across the South East are making changes to their local election plans for May 2026, so we wanted to share a quick overview of what’s going on and why.
With the government’s reorganisation of local government now well underway, several councils have asked to postpone their elections until 2027. The requests reflect a few practical concerns: limited capacity to run elections while also delivering structural change, avoiding electing councillors to authorities that may soon no longer exist, and the need to reduce costs and minimise confusion for residents.
The following South East councils have been approved for a postponement:
- Adur District Council
- Crawley Borough Council
- East Sussex County Council
- Hastings Borough Council
- West Sussex County Council
- Worthing Borough Council
Elections going ahead as planned in 2026:
- Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
- Cherwell District Council
- Eastleigh Borough Council
- Fareham Borough Council
- Gosport Borough Council
- Hampshire County Council
- Hart District Council
- Havant Borough Council
- Isle of Wight Council
- Oxford City Council
- Portsmouth City Council
- Rushmoor Borough Council
- Southampton City Council
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
- West Oxfordshire District Council
- Winchester City Council
If you’re working through the implications of reorganisation in your area, or supporting teams who are, you’re definitely not alone. There's a lot of collaboration happening across the region to make this as seamless as possible.
That’s also exactly why our partner networks matter right now. When election timetables shift and structures start moving, the questions come thick and fast, governance, workforce, communications, project planning, timelines, and what it all means in practice for officers and members.
By joining our networks, you get:
- A trusted peer space to compare notes with other councils facing the same challenges
- Practical updates and shared learning, so you are not piecing it together alone
- The chance to sense check plans, comms and approaches before they go live
- Access to examples, templates and what’s working elsewhere in the South East
If you are not plugged in yet, now is a great time. Bring a colleague too, the more voices in the room, the more useful it becomes for everyone.
Find a network here: seemp.co.uk/collaborate Top of Form