Local elections to go ahead in England and Wales despite coronavirus

Ministers not expected to postpone contests against

Is it time for an overhaul of the UK voting system? (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Local elections in England and Wales are expected go ahead this spring despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Contests that were due to be held in 2020 were postponed by the first lockdown, and there had also been doubts that they would go ahead this year.

But the democratic exercise will go ahead in May, with an extra £70 million made available to make polling stations Covid-19 secure, according to government sources cited by BBC News.

Divider screens and hand sanitiser will be provided to voters, and masks will be made compulsory in polling stations.

Elections due to take place include local councils elections in England, combined authority mayoral elections, the mayor of London elections and London Assembly elections, and police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales.

The governments of Scotland and Wales will separately decide whether to hold elections scheduled for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Parliament, which were also postponed in 2020.

Ministers had previously said the 6 May elections were under review again because of the latest lockdown restrictions and uncertainty over when they would end.

But constitution minister Chloe Smith had told MPs in January the threshold for postponing them again was a relatively "high bar" because of their importance.

Despite the latest hint to prepare for polls, concerns remain in local government about whether enough volunteers can be found to staff the exercise during the pandemic.

Others have also pointed out that civic venues usually used for polling stations are also being pressed into service as vaccination centres.