{"id":68825,"date":"2026-02-16T17:48:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=68825"},"modified":"2026-02-17T09:19:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T09:19:39","slug":"devon-county-council-welcomes-election-cancellation-u-turn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/devon-county-council-welcomes-election-cancellation-u-turn\/","title":{"rendered":"Devon County Council welcomes election cancellation u-turn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Devon County Council has welcomed a Government u-turn on plans to postpone local elections.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today\u2019s decision marks a significant reversal of the Government\u2019s earlier proposal to cancel 30 elections in areas undergoing local government reorganisation \u2013 a decision Devon County Council had strongly challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Devon County Council was the only council which held a special meeting at which councillors from all political persuasions condemned the cancellation as undemocratic and dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At that meeting, Councillor Julian Brazil, Leader of Devon County Council, criticised the proposal as a \u201cblatant and undemocratic attempt to retain power for longer,\u201d emphasising that elections are a fundamental part of a healthy democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The County Council played a leading role nationally in scrutinising the original proposal, with its public stance highlighting potential risks to democratic accountability across Exeter, where a third of seats are due to be contested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Devon County Council Leader Cllr Julian Brazil responds to the Government u-turn on local elections\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/547XbXMh7IY?feature=oembed&#038;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Councillors argued that cancelling elections was unnecessary, would undermine public confidence, and would create further uncertainty at a time when major structural reforms were already in progress.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_acf-block-699432a6c7cc8\" class=\"councillor-quote align-right dcc grid-x\">\r\n\t<blockquote class=\"councillor-quote-blockquote medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n                    <div class=\"councillor-quote-title\"><p>Councillor Julian Brazil, Leader of Devon County Council, said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n        \t\t<div class=\"councillor-quote-text\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are pleased the Government has listened and reversed its decision. You should not mess with democracy. The people of Devon have a right to decide who represents them. We took a clear, principled stance. Today\u2019s decision is a victory for democracy. I am proud to be part of a council which opposed the cancellation unanimously.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n        <div class=\"councillor-quote-aside medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n\t<figure class=\"councillor-quote-image grid-x\">\r\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"small-6 cell medium-12\" src=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/UserData\/7\/1\/1\/Info00000117\/bigpic.jpg\" alt=\"Councillor Julian Brazil\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\r\n        <figcaption class=\"councillor-quote-description small-6 cell medium-12\" >\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=117\" rel=\"noopener\">Councillor Julian Brazil, Leader of the Council<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n            <\/figure>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The council has confirmed it will continue engaging constructively with Government departments on reorganisation matters but will maintain its firm position that any administrative reform must not come at the expense of voters\u2019 democratic rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":68546,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[24,10],"tags":[2247,2234],"class_list":["post-68825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dcc-homepage","category-democracy","tag-cllr-julian-brazil","tag-democracy"],"acf":[],"featured_image":{"ID":68546,"title":"Copy of hero image for news website (6)","alt":"Councillor Julian 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