More than 2,000 council seats up for grabs next month

There are elections to two new unitaries and hundreds of parish councils in May

By Sarah Ward

The council offices at Corby Cube

Today is the final day of Northamptonshire’s eight councils.

It was decided by the Government three years ago that the existing local authorities should shut down (after the financial collapse of Conservative run Northamptonshire County Council) and since then moves have been made to form two new unitary councils - one serving the north of the county and the other the west.

There were big plans for how the new authorities would operate differently, but the pandemic put a spanner in the works and now the new authorities, which begin tomorrow will be ‘safe and legal’ with much of the planned transformation of services done after day one.

Alongside the new unitaries six new town councils will also be formed - the biggest by far in Northampton, which will have its chamber in the historic Guildhall.

93 unitary councillors will be elected to West Northamptonshire Council and 78 will be elected to the North Northamptonshire Council, plus 780 new coun…