May 2026 elections: what are the implications for local government reorganisation?

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Institute for Government

News, Government, Politics

4.5 • 278 Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

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Summary

How has England’s political landscape changed after the May 2026 elections? How will new local leaders go about their new roles? And what does this mean for the delivery of the government’s local government reorganisation (LGR) agenda? In this special episode of Inside Briefing, Matthew Fright, the Institute for Government’s LGR anorak, has been gathering views across three areas - Surrey, Essex and Kent – at the forefront of LGR delivery to see how the government’s aims to remove two-tier local government will be impacted by May’s elections. PLUS: An expert panel to unpick the election results and consider the demanding in-tray facing new local leaders as they get up to speed on this once in a generation transformation of local areas. Featuring: Ed Hammond, Director of Public Sector Audit at Grant Thornton UK Heather Jameson, Editor of MJ Vicky Elliot, Director of the IfG Academy Akash Paun, Programme Director for Devolution at IfG Plus interviews with: Cllr Tim Oliver OBE, Leader of Surrey County Council Mari Roberts-Wood, Chief Executive of Reigate and Banstead District Council Cllr Stephen Robinson, Leader of Chelmsford District Council Cllr Kevin Bentley, former leader of Essex County Council Cllr Linden Kemkaran, Leader of Kent County Council Cllr Vince Maple, Leader of Medway Council This podcast was produced with the kind support of Grant Thornton UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Inside Briefing, the podcast from the Institute for Government.
0:13.0	My name is Matthew Freight, a senior researcher on our devolution team.
0:18.0	I'm delighted to welcome you to this podcast considering what are the implications
0:22.7	of the May 26 elections for local government reorganisation. This is part of our
0:28.6	making a success of local government reorganisation series brought to you in partnership with
0:34.2	Grant Thornton. I'm delighted to be joined by an expert panel to discuss this topic.
0:39.0	They are Akash Pound, Program Director for Devolution at the IFG. Hi Matthew. Vicki Elliott,
0:44.2	IFG Academy Director. Morning, Matthew. Ed Hammond, Director at Grant Thornton. Hi, Matthew.
0:49.9	And Heather Jameson, editor at MJ. Hello. We will come on to reflect on the 7th May election results shortly,
0:56.0	but first I have been travelling across areas undergoing local government reorganisation.
1:03.0	Ahead of the May 26 elections, I visited three areas at different stages of the LGR cycle
1:09.0	and different stages of the ElectGR cycle and different stages of the
1:10.9	electoral cycle, Surrey, Essex and Kent, to hear the perspectives of decision-makers on what
1:16.1	these elections mean for the delivery of local government reorganisation.
1:24.7	We've been interviewing leaders from Surrey, the most advanced area on the government's
1:28.9	LGR timetable. Last October, the government announced its decision to split Surrey in two,
1:34.9	with so-called shadow elections for the new East and West Surrey councils taking place on
1:39.9	the 7th of May. These elections will appoint councillors who will work alongside existing councils
1:45.2	to prepare the new unitary authorities for going live in 2027. I've been finding out what other
1:52.0	areas can learn from Surrey's journey. I started by talking with Tim Oliver, conservative leader of the
1:57.6	outgoing Surrey County Council who set the scene. So, Surrey is in the first wave and the only one in the first wave following the publication
2:07.6	of the White Paper in that we started out on this process, all of us, on the basis that the
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