Residents of Sussex have been dealt a bitter blow as the Labour government confirmed that the first ever mayoral election for Sussex & Brighton, originally due in May 2026, has been delayed by two years. Under the new timetable, the vote will now not take place until May 2028.
This move follows the cancellation of the May 2025 county‑council elections across East and West Sussex, postponed under the guise of local government “reorganisation.”
Reform UK view today’s announcement as a fresh attempt to deny democratic choice to Sussex voters, undermining democracy for political convenience.
“Our members across Sussex had been gearing up to deliver a real alternative to the cosy status quo,” said the Reform UK candidate for Sussex mayor, Paul Linehan.
“Less than 24 hours ago I was addressing our branch’s meeting in Bexhill, talking about our plans for proper policing in Sussex and giving local people real control. Yet while I spoke, the government was sneaking around Westminster, plotting to rip the vote from our hands. This is not reform. It is a scandalous attempt to stop us winning.”
Victoria Carson, Chair of the Bexhill & Battle Reform UK branch, added: “The people of Sussex have been denied their say. We were promised an election in 2026, and communities started to organise and mobilise. Now Labour have jerked the rug from under millions of voters. They have postponed democracy itself.”
What was taken from us?
May 2025 county elections cancelled: Under the government’s devolution shake‑up the scheduled elections in East and West Sussex were scrapped. Voters were told the cancellations were temporary, pending reorganisation.
Reform UK says the justification given by ministers, that reorganisation and structural reform require extra time, rings hollow, and that this latest move is simply a ploy to suppress opposition voices, particularly in areas where appetite is growing for Reform UK.
The branch is exploring what recourse is still open and is investigating whether there is any legal or statutory recourse to challenge the postponement. We will also explore whether public pressure, petitions, or coordinated pressure from other affected areas (Essex, Hampshire & the Solent, Norfolk & Suffolk) might force a reversal.
The wider picture
Originally, the government’s “Devolution Priority Programme” proposed to bring six new mayors to regions including Sussex & Brighton by May 2026. Those plans have now been chopped. The reason given: local government reorganisation is not sufficiently advanced to hold elections on schedule, but for many this reads as little more than a political dodge.
In East and West Sussex, local councils had already submitted proposals for unitary reorganisation and mayoral combined authority governance. For a time, it appeared that 2026 would be the moment for voters to have their say. That moment has now been delayed, and with it, the voices of thousands of citizens.
Reform UK believes that democracy delayed is democracy denied. We will not be silent while Labour sweeps aside the right of voters to choose their leaders.