Upcoming structural changes to local government in England
Proposed structural changes to local government in England were set out in the English devolution white paper published by the UK government on 16 December 2024. The white paper announced that where possible, there was a desire for existing two-tier areas — where services are provided by both county councils and district councils — to be reorganised into a smaller number of unitary authorities, where local services are provided by a single authority for at least 500,000 people.
This wave of local government restructuring – following previous changes in 1995–1998, 2009 and 2019–2023 – is referred to as Local Government Reorganisation by the UK government. It is intended that the first elections to the new councils will be on 6 May 2027, and the councils will begin operation on 1 April 2028. For Surrey, an accelerated timeline is planned, with elections on 7 May 2026, and the new councils beginning operation on 1 April 2027.
Background
A round of local government reorganisation took place in England between 2019 and 2023 during the Conservative governments of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. Here several large unitary authorities were created between either by abolition of district councils,, or by the abolition of county councils and grouping of districts into new unitaries,.The Labour Party returned to power following a landslide victory in the 2024 general election, and in her Autumn budget statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves outlined that a forthcoming English Devolution Bill would include plans for "working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas", suggesting that a new round of local government reorganisation could be likely.
In February 2025, the government announced that six areas had been selected to join the Devolution Priority Programme, which would include the establishment of mayoral combined authorities in each area and local government reorganisation, if necessary, to remove two-tier local government. In these areas, the councils involved were asked to submit final proposals for reorganisation at the end of September 2025. The government intends to launch consultations on the submitted proposals in November. Decisions on which proposals to implement are expected to be announced by March 2026. Secondary legislation would be required, following which elections to the new unitary authorities would take place on 6 May 2027. The new authorities would then go live on 1 April 2028.
Surrey was not part of the priority programme announced on 5 February 2025. However, the government decided to accelerate the process. On 28 October 2025, the government confirmed its decision that Surrey would be reorganised into two unitaries, East Surrey and West Surrey. Elections to these new authorities are scheduled for 7 May 2026, and the new councils are expected to become operational on 1 April 2027.
In July 2025, the government wrote to the councils in the 14 remaining 2-tier areas, asking for proposals to be submitted by the end of November 2025. Consultations are expected to be launched in the New Year, and decisions on which proposal to implement could be announced before the summer. Secondary legislation would be required, following which elections to the new unitary authorities would take place on 6 May 2027. The new authorities would then go live on 1 April 2028.
Priority programme
In November 2024, it was reported that Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Norfolk and Suffolk would be included in the first wave of local authority reorganisation with the two-tier system of county councils and district councils being replaced by unitary authorities; however, this turned out to be incorrect. In February 2025, the government announced the six areas that would join the devolution priority programme:Two of these, Cumbria and Cheshire & Warrington, were reformed in earlier changes and will gain mayoral combined authorities. Greater Essex, Norfolk & Suffolk, Sussex & Brighton, and Hampshire & Solent will also involve local authority restructuring.
Greater Essex
Greater Essex was announced as part of the priority programme on 5 February 2025. The May 2025 local elections that would have taken place in Essex and Thurrock were cancelled. Some of the May 2026 local elections in Greater Essex were cancelled.Greater Essex, contiguous with the ceremonial county of Essex, is at present split into a non-metropolitan county of the same name, administered by Essex County Council, and two unitary authorities. Essex County Council shares governance with twelve non-metropolitan districts in a two-tier system of local government.
The full list of districts and unitary authority areas are:
- Uttlesford
- Braintree
- Colchester
- Tendring
- Harlow
- Epping Forest
- Chelmsford
- Maldon
- Brentwood
- Basildon
- Rochford
- Castle Point
- Southend-on-Sea
- Thurrock
Later in December 2024, it was reported that the government would reorganise Essex into two or three local authorities with over 500,000 people each. The unitary authorities of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea will be abolished and merged with other areas of the county, with local elections likely postponed until 2026. Essex County Council leader Kevin Bentley confirmed that his council would ask the government to postpone local elections for the unitary and two-tier authorities of Essex to prepare for the county's reorganisation.
Proposals
proposed a five-unitary option, made of the following groupings:- Southend-on-Sea, Rochford and Castle Point
- Basildon and Thurrock
- Harlow, Epping Forest, Uttlesford
- Chelmsford, Brentwood, Maldon
- Colchester, Braintree, Tendring
- Colchester, Tendring, Braintree, Uttlesford
- Chelmsford, Harlow, Epping Forest, Brentwood, Maldon
- Southend, Basildon, Thurrock, Castle Point, Rochford
Thurrock Council support a four-unitary option, consisting of:
- Harlow, Epping Forest, Brentwood, Thurrock
- Southend, Basildon, Castle Point, Rochford
- Chelmsford, Braintree, Uttlesford
- Colchester, Maldon, Tendring
- West Essex: Harlow, Epping Forest, Uttlesford
- South Essex: Southend, Basildon, Castle Point, Thurrock
- Central Essex: Chelmsford, Brentwood, Maldon, Rochford
- North Essex: Colchester, Braintree, Tendring
Hampshire and Solent
Hampshire and Solent were announced as part of the priority programme on 5 February 2025. The May 2025 local elections that would have taken place in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were cancelled.Hampshire and Solent is formed of the ceremonial counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The area is split between the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire, administered by Hampshire County Council and eleven district councils, and three unitary authorities, one of which covers the Isle of Wight. The remainder are:
- Test Valley
- Basingstoke and Deane
- Hart
- Rushmoor
- City of Winchester
- East Hampshire
- New Forest
- Southampton
- Eastleigh
- Fareham
- Portsmouth
- Havant
On the topic of local government reorganisation, the Hampshire County Council leader has said that it is unlikely that the unitarisation of the county would follow current district boundaries. The interim proposal submitted by district councils on 21 March 2025 stated that the Isle of Wight should remain its own council rather than being merged with mainland authorities. It also set out analysis for the mainland authorities to be based on the economic geographies of Basingstoke, Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, without making a decision on the number of unitaries.
Initially all 15 authorities formed a group to bring forward a single proposal, assessing eight options of between 2 and 5 proposals. They ultimately concluded that four mainland councils, plus the Isle of Wight remaining separate despite falling below the 500,000 mark, would be ideal. However, subsequent to this, Hampshire County Council, East Hampshire District, and Gosport Borough Council announced that they were leaving the joint process, with Hampshire and East Hampshire beginning their own process, and Gosport fully opposing the process.
The remaining councils ultimately agreed to work on the business cases for three potential proposals, based around the urban areas of Basingstoke, Winchester, Southampton, and Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight remaining separate. Two of these were simple merges of districts, whilst the third included proposed boundary changes. All three proposals included proposals for a North Hampshire authority comprising Basingstoke and Deane, Hart, and Rushmoor, a Mid Hampshire authority based around Winchester, East Hants, and Test Valley, a South East authority based around Portsmouth, Havant, Gosport, and Fareham, and a South West authority based around Southampton and Eastleigh. The three vary slightly depending on how the New Forest is paired with, either wholly or partly with the Mid or South West proposals. The third option's boundary changes included transferring the parishes of Totton & Eling, Marchwood, Hythe & Dibden and Fawley from the New Forest and Valley Park, Nursling & Rownhams and Chilworth from Test Valley into the South West district, and Newlands from Winchester and Horndean, Clanfield and Rowlands Castle into the South East District. A shared vision entitled Close enough to be local big enough to stay strong was published by the 12 councils, with each district due to vote on their preferred option in September 2025.
Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council meanwhile proposed three mainland authorities, of North and Mid Hampshire comprising Basingstoke and Deane, East Hampshire, Hart, Rushmoor and Winchester with a population of around 656,000, South-West Hampshire comprising Eastleigh, New Forest, Southampton, and Test Valley with a population of around 707,000, and South-East Hampshire comprising Fareham, Gosport, Havant and Portsmouth with a population of around 533,000, with the Isle of Wight remaining independent.
In July 2025, a consultation opened on three options, all of which proposed five unitary councils across the two counties.