You will have heard the reports in the media about the possible postponement of the local elections scheduled for 3 May 2001. This circular is to let you know that the Prime Minister has announced this morning that emergency legislation is to be introduced to postpone the date of the local elections until 7 June 2001. The Home Secretary will make a statement to the House of Commons this afternoon, the text of which will be available on the House of Commons website and on our own website as soon as it is available.
The legislation will postpone all elections which were due to take place on 3 May – both ordinary elections and by-elections – to 7 June. Any by-elections which were due to take place before 3 May will go ahead, but any by-elections due to take place between 3 May and 7 June will also be postponed.
Nominations of candidates for 3 May will remain valid for 7 June. Fresh, including replacement, nominations can be made up until noon on 10 May 2001 and can begin to be received as soon as the new notice of election for 7 June has been published. Candidates already nominated and those nominated later can withdraw up to noon on 15 May 2001.
Electoral administrators are required by statute to continue preparations for elections on 3 May until the emergency legislation is in place, though clearly you will not want to enter into any unnecessary commitments from which it is difficult to withdraw or which have financial implications.
The Bill will contain provisions to provide compensation for local authorities for expenditure already committed, but there are no details yet.
You will appreciate that available information is limited at present. We will attempt to keep you informed as the situation develops. In the meantime it would be appreciated if you could avoid making telephone calls to the elections section unless they are absolutely essential. But if you need to speak to someone urgently, you should ring John Collins on 020 7273 2211.