Councillor pledges to quit in election protest

5 hours ago

Paul Moseley

News image — Simon Ring plans to fight for his seat in a by-election

Simon Ring Simon Ring is smiling at the camera. He's wearing a grey, woollen suit jacket over a red and white checked shirt and a blue and gold tie. — Simon Ring plans to fight for his seat in a by-election

A councillor says he plans to resign and fight to win back his seat back, in protest at the postponement of elections.

Norfolk County Council member Simon Ring, an independent, said people should be allowed to exercise their "democratic right to choose".

Last week the government said it would put back the council's elections for a year, to allow more time to reorganise local government.

The move was particularly controversial as voting had already been delayed by a year.

The council's Conservative leader, Kay Mason Billig, said the decision to put off elections was "the right one".

BBC/Martin Giles Councillors meeting in a council chamber. — Norfolk County Council elections were scheduled for May

Ring, who is also deputy leader of West Norfolk Council, said he could not "in all conscience continue beyond May without a fresh mandate from the people".

He said that if Reform UK lost a legal challenge against election postponements, he would step down as county councillor for Freebridge Lynn. He would then stand again for the seat, which he won in 2024 with 53.6% of the vote.

Ring urged other councillors to do the same.

After voting was postponed last year, Julian Kirk quit the Conservatives and stepped down from his seat, winning it back for Reform in the subsequent by-election.

Qays Najim/BBC Kay Mason Billig is looking just past the camera. She is wearing a patterned suit jacket. — Council leader Kay Mason Billig said she appreciated some people were "unhappy about this situation"

All 84 council seats were due to be contested in May, until the government's decision to postpone.

It had asked Mason Billig for her view, and although she did not call for the election to be put off, she warned the plan to reorganise local councils could collapse if they took place.

At a meeting of the council's cabinet today she said she had given the government the information "needed in order to make an informed decision".

"I think it is the right one if we are going to see these major improvements of local government reorganisation and devolution delivered for the residents of Norfolk," she added.

In England, 29 elections have been delayed for a year. The other council affected in Norfolk is Norwich City Council, where ballots were due to take place for 13 of its 39 seats.

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