Correspondence

Local government reorganisation: further letters to councils on local elections in May 2026

Letters from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to leaders of Essex County Council and Pendle Borough Council in relation to their 2026 local elections.

• From: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and The Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP
• Published: 29 January 2026

Applies to England

Documents

Letter to Essex County Council

PDF, 167 KB, 1 page

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternativeformats@communities.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Letter to Pendle Borough Council

PDF, 166 KB, 1 page

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternativeformats@communities.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

​​​On 29 January 2026, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government wrote to the leaders of 2 councils due to hold local elections in 2026.

Both councils made further representations after his decisions and statement to Parliament on 22 January 2026.

The councils were:

• Essex County Council
• Pendle Borough Council

The letters set out his final decisions with regards to the timing of these elections. ​​

Published 29 January 2026