All district councils and county councils are being abolished as part of local government reorganisation with various plans for how Devon should be organised currently being considered by the government.
In a statement on Thursday, Local Government Minister Alison McGovern said several authorities in England had asked for a postponement, after expressing concerns about their ability to run “resource-intensive” elections alongside the transition.
Julian Brazil, Liberal Democrat leader of Devon County Council, said to “cancel the opportunity for people to have their say” was “an incredibly dangerous thing to do”.
He said: “We all know what they’re doing. Government ministers are putting political self-interest first, rather than democracy.
“The prime minister is trying to save his political life. He talks about putting the country first, but you can see it for what it is – a complete load of tosh. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.”
The announcement of further potential delays was made on the last day before Parliament’s Christmas break.