LGR Series | Democracy on Hold? | With Oliver Deed

This week, the focus is on what happens when elections don’t happen. Across England, mayoral contests are being pushed back, council elections postponed, and existing leaders are carrying on in office long after voters expected to have their say. The machinery of local government keeps turning – budgets are set, decisions are made – but the mandate behind those decisions starts to look increasingly thin.To help unpack all of this, from the tactical arguments about ‘flexibility’ to the bigger questions of democratic legitimacy, I’m joined by Oliver Deed, Managing Director of E.C.F., who works closely with councils navigating reorganisation, devolution deals and the messy realities of implementation.