King could force Labour to publish legal advice over scrapped elections after Starmer's latest U-turn

Labour could be forced by the King to publish the legal advice that led to its U-turn on plans to cancel elections for millions of voters.

Pressure was mounting on Tuesday night on Local Government Secretary Steve Reed to quit over the local election farce after it emerged Labour's 14th U-turn since taking power will cost taxpayers £63million to fix.

And Attorney General Lord Hermer was facing scrutiny over his role in the original plans to deny 4.6million people a vote after a last-minute 'change' in legal advice suggested it would be unlawful.

Now it is understood the Lib Dems are planning to table a rare 'humble address' to the King next Tuesday that would force the Government to release the legal advice explaining its U-turn.

The Tories had success using the same mechanism earlier this month to force Labour to publish documents surrounding the decision by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador.

The Lib Dems and Reform UK have already called for the Government to release the local elections legal advice - a request that governments always deny - which saw 30 authorities given permission to postpone polls set for May 7 for financial reasons.

Ben Maguire, the Lib Dems' shadow attorney general, told the Daily Mail: 'Lord Hermer and Steve Reed have serious questions to answer about how they could have respectively given and accepted legal advice that was so clearly wrong.'

Meanwhile, local council leaders were in open revolt as one branded Mr Reed a 'two-faced bully' and a 'b*****d' over the scrapped plans to delay elections.

Pressure was mounting on Tuesday night on Local Government Secretary Steve Reed to quit over the local election farce after it emerged Labour's 14th U-turn since taking power will cost taxpayers £63million to fix

Pressure was mounting on Tuesday night on Local Government Secretary Steve Reed to quit over the local election farce after it emerged Labour's 14th U-turn since taking power will cost taxpayers £63million to fix

PM Keir Starmer is under increased pressure as critics have accused him of trying to stop 4.6 million people from voting

PM Keir Starmer is under increased pressure as critics have accused him of trying to stop 4.6 million people from voting

And Attorney General Lord Hermer (pictured) was facing scrutiny over his role in the original plans to deny 4.6million people a vote after a last-minute 'change' in legal advice suggested it would be unlawful

And Attorney General Lord Hermer (pictured) was facing scrutiny over his role in the original plans to deny 4.6million people a vote after a last-minute 'change' in legal advice suggested it would be unlawful

Monday's about-turn decision to go ahead with all elections in May came ahead of Reform's legal challenge to the move that was due to be heard on Thursday.

Reform leader Nigel Farage branded the U-turn 'a victory for democracy' and called for Mr Reed, who only announced the delay last month, to quit.

On Tuesday, he called for the original legal advice to be published that suggested elections could be cancelled and the later advice that said this would be unlawful.

The Government has agreed to pay Reform's costs relating to the legal proceedings. And Mr Reed on Tuesday announced £63million in extra funding would be handed to the affected councils to help them run the elections.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock told Times Radio on Tuesday that: 'We've received further legal advice, and all of these elections will go ahead.'

The Attorney General's Office said that Lord Hermer does not have to disclose any potential legal advice given.

And a Local Government ministry spokesman said: 'It remains a long-standing principle that government does not comment on or publish legal advice.'

Share or comment on this article: King could force Labour to publish legal advice over scrapped elections after Starmer's latest U-turn
AI Article