Reform councils vow to legally challenge local government reorganisation

The news comes as Essex County Council’s incoming Reform leader issued a pre-action protocol letter on Monday (18 May), after previously declaring that a legal bid against reorganisation in Essex would be his first act in office.

Reform took control of Suffolk Council after winning 41 of the council's 70 seats in this month's local elections.

The party is also expected to lead Norfolk Council with no majority after taking 40 seats at the local elections, just shy of the 43 seats needed for a majority.

Michael Hadwen, who is to be appointed as Suffolk's leader this week, told the BBC's Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that his administration would focus on blocking plans to divide the county into three unitary authorities.

He told the LDRS he would mount a legal challenge against the move, adding that a pre-action letter will be sent after his appointment.

David Bick, who was announced as leader of Norfolk Reform this week and is expected to lead Norfolk County Council, meanwhile told the LDRS that his party "could not stand idly by and watch the government dismember our county".

Bick said that the cost of mounting a legal challenge is a "fraction of the price", in an apparent reference to the cost of local government reorganisation.

"Every time a council is confronted with something it opposes on the grounds that it won't work, if you've got a government that doesn't listen - and on this they haven't, up to now - you don't have any alternative but to take legal action," he added.

In Essex, the newly appointed Reform leader said last week that he would seek a legal challenge against LGR as his first act in office, labelling the plans as "ill-thought, expensive,” and “purely ideological".

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Local government reorganisation will put one council in charge of decisions in their area. This will speed up the construction of new homes and infrastructure, improve public services and boost regional growth to put more money in peoples’ pockets."

Adam Carey