Why Sir Keir Starmer's latest U-turn may see him lose more than just face

The government has changed its mind again.

By my count, for the 15th time.

The government planned to postpone local elections in 30 areas of England due to take place in May, but after a court challenge from Reform UK, it thought better of it.

With government lawyers offering new legal advice saying the proposed cancellation of these elections would, in fact, be illegal, this means that over 4 and a half million extra people will be voting in May after all.

But why did the government want to cancel these elections?

Labour argued that it was a waste of time, money and resources to hold elections for councils that would soon be abolished and merged into larger council structures anyway.

But that justification appeared not to be legally robust enough to reassure the government that it could win the legal case.

And not only has the government scrapped these plans, but it also now has to scrap planned legislation it created to make these changes possible.

And what's more, it has agreed to pay Reform's legal fees - something Sky News understands to be a six-figure sum.

Read more:
Every Labour U-turn in 19 months
Investigation launched into Labour campaign group claim

Opposition parties are celebrating this U-turn as a victory for democracy.

But it is Reform UK that ultimately forced the government to change course with its legal action, something Nigel Farage will not let Sir Keir Starmer forget in a hurry

In an interview just hours before this latest change of heart, the prime minister promised no more U-turns.

But by our maths at Sky News, this makes it U-turn number 15.

And with even more councils and council seats up for grabs in May than first thought, Sir Keir has even more to lose.

(c) Sky News 2026: Why Sir Keir Starmer's latest U-turn may see him lose more than just face