Morgan McSweeney gone - What Now For Number 10?

I find, if anyone on here tells someone they are in a rabbit hole, that is precisely the time to carry on digging.

^Government responded
This response was given on 5 January 2026

The Secretary of State’s powers in this area are set out in legislation made by Parliament and used only with strong justification. The Government has no plans to amend these powers.^

and used only with strong justification!!

I suspect some posters already knew this.

Ooh look. A petition.

So it could happen legally.
As I suspected.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/747234

MaizieD

fancythat

No

I can write dslfkjdjakfj if I fancy it.

For you to ask that, you do have a problem with them. one way or another.

I want them to stay.
I dont like the idea of the others being cancelled.
But havent looked into it all enough to know whether it was reasonable or not,.

When yu've already been told that a) the cancellation decisions were made by the councils and b) that the deadline for asking for a cancellation has passed and then start asking/ implying that they could still be cancelled it really makes me wonder if you desperately want it to happen so you can chalk up another black mark against Labour.

I am highly critical of the government, which has been a huge disappointment to me and to many other people, but I do try to keep to facts and not disappear down a fantasy rabbit hole.

I for one am most certainly not writing off the idea that they will get cancelled.
All or some of them.

There has to be something somewhere that would allow it.
Which could be used.

Casdon

fancythat

We are not a kangaroo state, they won’t be cancelled.

But you have not answered my question[8.40 about legality of doing so]..
Therefore I have to presume you dont know.

It’s so easy to look and find out fancythat. I wasn’t avoiding your question, but I am wondering why you didn’t do that?
mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/01/20/inaccurate-reporting-about-local-election-high-court-ruling/

I no longer trust the law, as in, there are so many loopholes, that it would be me wasting my time. I never waste time if I can help it.

Neither of us is a lawyer I presume. Let alone know all loopholes regarding this question. I am presuming.

Casdon

You might want to read this fancythat. It’s an eye opener regarding how much it costs councils to run local elections. Regardless of the politics, if your council was being merged and the whole election process had to be run twice in a short period of time, saving that amount of money must be a no brainer when your council is severely cash strapped, not to mention the man hours of officer time it takes.

Sometimes people don't actually want the facts, they want a fight. And sometimes their sense of a right to be right just steamrollers over facts they are given.

fancythat

No

I can write dslfkjdjakfj if I fancy it.

For you to ask that, you do have a problem with them. one way or another.

I want them to stay.
I dont like the idea of the others being cancelled.
But havent looked into it all enough to know whether it was reasonable or not,.

When yu've already been told that a) the cancellation decisions were made by the councils and b) that the deadline for asking for a cancellation has passed and then start asking/ implying that they could still be cancelled it really makes me wonder if you desperately want it to happen so you can chalk up another black mark against Labour.

I am highly critical of the government, which has been a huge disappointment to me and to many other people, but I do try to keep to facts and not disappear down a fantasy rabbit hole.

MaizieD

David49

To survive Starmer now has to move leftwards that will leave him less money to invest in growth, its hard to see him lasting long. Maybe poor results in the council elections will be his final coffin nail.

How do you work that out, David?

The government could invest £billions any time it wants, regardless of its position on the left to right spectrum. It’s ,faulty economics that is holding it back, not capacity or political stance.

Yes it could do just that, the problem is that the for last 20+ years the ecomomists have been wrong borrowing has increased but growth has remained stagnant. Whatever we think about the global financial system it is a fact of life we have to retain the confidence of investors.

You are proposing more of the same, polititians are only interested in votes the new Labour MPs are more concerned with getting elected next election than improving the economy.

Yesterday the financial markets had a wobble with the prospect of Starmer being deposed, today it will be calmer but take it as a warning that borrowing rates will go up if a left wing regime takes over

fancythat

^We are not a kangaroo state, they won’t be cancelled.^

But you have not answered my question[8.40 about legality of doing so]..
Therefore I have to presume you dont know.

It’s so easy to look and find out fancythat. I wasn’t avoiding your question, but I am wondering why you didn’t do that?
mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/01/20/inaccurate-reporting-about-local-election-high-court-ruling/

Casdon

We are not a kangaroo state, they won’t be cancelled. The process has been followed in the same way as usual. The elections are on 7th May, and we are not far off the beginning of the 6-8 week pre election purdah now. Councils and the governments of Scotland and Wales are well into preparation mode already.

Ours were cancelled last year, due to boundary changes

taxpayersalliance.com/the-cost-of-council-elections/

You might want to read this fancythat. It’s an eye opener regarding how much it costs councils to run local elections. Regardless of the politics, if your council was being merged and the whole election process had to be run twice in a short period of time, saving that amount of money must be a no brainer when your council is severely cash strapped, not to mention the man hours of officer time it takes.

I can almost feel the panic of the thought of that, from Maisie and Casdon.

To Casdon.

We are not a kangaroo state, they won’t be cancelled.

But you have not answered my question[8.40 about legality of doing so]..
Therefore I have to presume you dont know.

reply to maizieD

No

I can write dslfkjdjakfj if I fancy it.

For you to ask that, you do have a problem with them. one way or another.

I want them to stay.
I dont like the idea of the others being cancelled.
But havent looked into it all enough to know whether it was reasonable or not,.

We are not a kangaroo state, they won’t be cancelled. The process has been followed in the same way as usual. The elections are on 7th May, and we are not far off the beginning of the 6-8 week pre election purdah now. Councils and the governments of Scotland and Wales are well into preparation mode already.

You’re desperate to see them cancelled, are you, fancythat?

Morgan McS thrown under the bus to save Starmer. Who’d have thought it? (she said tongue in cheek).

Good Lord, MOnica, how much further right do you want Labour to go? It’s already way past centre in that direction.

Some legal way or other.
Some loophole?

Casdon

Here is the updated position regarding which elections are taking place, this one is dated 28th January, so includes the full picture, mayors etc as well, following the 15th January deadline.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/local-elections-2026

But they could still all get cancelled? Could they not?

David49

To survive Starmer now has to move leftwards that will leave him less money to invest in growth, its hard to see him lasting long. Maybe poor results in the council elections will be his final coffin nail.

It would be nice if a politicl party put the electorate before petty party politics. If it did, it would be shifting rightwards, not lefwards.

David49

To survive Starmer now has to move leftwards that will leave him less money to invest in growth, its hard to see him lasting long. Maybe poor results in the council elections will be his final coffin nail.

How do you work that out, David?

The government could invest £billions any time it wants, regardless of its position on the left to right spectrum. It’s ,faulty economics that is holding it back, not capacity or political stance.