Political opinion with Cllr Duncan Crow: The local government reorganisation shambles drags on

Last Thursday saw the Labour Government’s latest announcement on their truly shambolic reorganization of local government in England. The government has created a huge mess entirely of its own making, and nothing they said last week has given me any confidence that they will get this right for Crawley and West Sussex.

The whole process started back in December 2024 when despite not being in Labour’s manifesto at the July general election that year, the government announced the biggest change to local government in England since the early 1970s.  

With the exception of Surrey who were placed a year ahead of everyone else, all parts of England like ours with two-tier local government were put on a set timeline for unitary council elections in 2027 and the dissolution of existing councils in April 2028. While having no choice as this is being mandated by the government, local authorities have engaged in the process in good faith and spent a huge amount of time, energy and (your) money in preparation for the changes.

We were supposed to hear back in March what our new Unitary Authority covering Crawley would be, but in late March we were told the decision would be delayed until July, after a further consultation, which felt like a sham. In mid-July another delay until October was announced, but in September the government announced that all local government reorganisation was paused, with more information planned for October.

Confused? At the last possible point in October, the government announced local government reorganization will proceed after all, but that there will be a further one-year delay with elections now taking place in May 2028 and it being April 2029 before our existing councils dissolve and our new one comes into being. We are now told it will be Christmas or next year before we are told what Crawley’s new unitary council will be.

I have lost all confidence in the government’s ability to get this right for Crawley, and I am increasingly doubtful this huge disruption will lead to any better value for money or better services for Crawley residents.