County elections to be delayed again?

Ben Dempsey, Lib Dem candidate for Sussex Mayor, has responded to the Government's statement on allowing County Councils to request the cancellation of elections in Sussex. (Details here.)

Ben Dempsey, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Sussex, said: "This is a democratic farce. The government is essentially asking Conservative council leaders if they would like to grant themselves an extra year in power. It is like a teacher asking a student if they’d prefer to skip their exams because they aren’t ready.

"The whole process has been an utter shambles. First, the May 2025 county elections were delayed with the promise of a new Mayor. Then, the government cancelled those Mayoral elections. Now, they are inviting the Sussex Tories to help them finish the job by 'requesting' a further delay to the county elections.

"At a time when trust in politics is already dangerously low, this further corrodes it by treating Sussex voters with contempt. It is simply unacceptable for unpopular Labour and Tory officials to collude in this way to deny the public their democratic right to vote.

"The government must stop looking for excuses, stop asking the councillors beyond their mandate for permission to hold elections, and simply allow the people of Sussex to have their say."