“This Order … changes the year of ordinary election … from 2026 to 2027,” states new legislation published on legislation.gov.uk today. The Statutory Instrument (S.I. 2026/96), signed by Minister of State Alison McGovern, was made on 3 February, laid before Parliament on 5 February, and comes into force on 27 February 2026.

For Lancashire, it means voters in Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Preston, West Lancashire, Hyndburn and Pendle will not go to the polls in May 2026. Instead, their ordinary council elections will run on the usual early May polling day in 2027.

Current councillors in those areas will remain in office for an extra year. The Order also sets retirement dates for the next cohort: those elected in 2027 in the councils above will leave office on the fourth day after the ordinary polling day in 2030, unless they resign or the seat becomes vacant earlier.

A small number of county councils elsewhere-East Sussex, Norfolk, Suffolk and West Sussex-are treated differently because their 2025 polls were postponed too; councillors elected there in 2027 will serve until 2029.

Thurrock is the outlier. Its subsequent ordinary elections move to 2031 and then every four years thereafter, resetting the cycle for that authority.

The Order also deals with casual vacancies. Where a seat fell vacant shortly before this change and would have been filled at the 2026 elections, returning officers can now run a by-election any time from 27 February up to 7 May 2026. Anyone elected in such a by-election will serve only until the fourth day after the ordinary polling day in 2027.

Boundary changes tied to earlier reviews are pushed back a year. For West Lancashire in particular, ward changes set out in the West Lancashire (Electoral Changes) Order 2022 will now take effect for the 2027 polls rather than 2026. Similar adjustments are made for Norfolk, Suffolk, Wealden, Thurrock, Stevenage, Redditch, Basildon, Harlow and Cannock Chase.

Practically, that means another year of business as usual at Lancashire town halls. Leaders, mayors and committee chairs will continue through the 2026–27 council year without facing voters this spring, while parties recalibrate selections and campaign plans for 2027.

The government’s note to the legislation says there is “no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector.” That claim will be tested locally as councils manage budgets, planning decisions and service changes under extended mandates.

The “ordinary day of election of councillors”-defined in law and typically the first Thursday in May-remains unchanged; only the year moves. For residents, nothing about voter registration or polling station arrangements is altered by this Order, aside from the shift from 2026 to 2027.

The list of affected authorities is national, but the North West carries a fair share of the change. Alongside Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Preston and West Lancashire, councils such as City of Lincoln, Peterborough and Norwich are also included.

For community groups and would-be candidates mapping their campaigns, mark the dates: the Order takes effect on 27 February 2026; by-elections covering recent vacancies can be called up to 7 May 2026; ordinary council elections in these areas are now due in May 2027, with most successful candidates serving until 2030.