Dodds told BBC South's political editor Peter Henley that it made sense to put local government reorganisation ahead of mayoral elections.

The new mayoralties in Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent, and Sussex and Brighton will now be contested in 2028.

Conservative Jones, who is currently Hampshire's Police and Crime Commissioner said: "The government's decision to delay the mayoral elections planned for 2026 is a disgrace and an affront to democracy. It is clear Labour are afraid to face the British public at the ballot box.

In an era of hyperpartisanship in which battle lines are proudly drawn to entrench both the red and the blue, the idea of a robust, purple faction might sound fanciful. Purple states keep politics competitive,

New Hampshire's strict voter registration law is turning away legitimate voters, especially married women, and wasting state money.

New opinion polling from the University of New Hampshire shows that Gov. Ned Lamont has a strong approval rating heading into the 2026 election. The next gubernatorial

Sources say votes in Essex and the combined counties of Norfolk and Suffolk will now take place at a later date.