Labour announced in December it was planning to cancel elections in 30 areas - affecting more than 4.5 million people - to overhaul English council structures.

But on Monday, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it was no longer going ahead with the plan due to "new legal advice".

Politics latest: Which councils are affected?

Reform UK had launched a legal challenge against the government, and the legal advice was in reaction to that case.

A letter from the government's legal department to MHCLG, seen by Sky News, said the government will pay Reform's legal costs.

Sky News understands the legal costs are in six figures.

An MHCLG spokesman said: "Following legal advice, the government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May.

"Providing certainty to councils about their local elections is now the most crucial thing and all local elections will now go ahead in May 2026."

The department has written to all 30 councils to confirm elections will go ahead in May.

There will also be a £63m fund to help local councils across those areas reorganise their structures, with "practical support" also on offer.

Reform UK's leader Nigel Farage told broadcasters that the government had "caved".

"It's a victory for Reform. But more importantly, it's a victory for democracy in this country. We are delighted," he said.

He added that the government had U-turned because they would have lost in court - and suggested Local Government Secretary Steve Reed's job should be at risk.

U-turn number 15

This is now the 15th U-turn by Sir Keir's government since coming to power in July 2024.

Less than two hours before the announcement, the prime minister was asked by the BBC if he would "stick to your course now after those U-turns".

He responded: "Absolutely. I know exactly why I was elected in with a five-year mandate to change this country for the better, and that's what I intend to do."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the U-turn "predictable chaos from a useless government that cannot make basic decisions".

Most of the councils that had chosen to postpone, after being invited to by the government in December, were Labour - and Ms Badenoch called the few Conservative-run authorities to choose postponement "silly".

She said Mr Reed now has "very serious questions to answer on whether political considerations were behind his decision" - and she threatened to use "every means at our disposal to get to the truth" if he does not.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said they "cannot allow the government to cancel elections on a whim ever again", and said his party wanted to change the law to strip ministers of that power.

Councils and voters 'bewildered'

Campaigners expressed relief at this latest U-turn but also exasperation over how little time councils now have to put on elections in less than three months.

Elliot Keck, campaigns director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers will be hugely relieved to see their right to a vote restored, but it should have never come this far.

"Millions of voters were not just facing cancelled elections, but also the double injustice of increased council tax despite a complete lack of a democratic mandate.

"Ministers should still bring in new guidelines making clear that were any elections to be cancelled in future, for any reason, there would be a mandatory freeze on council tax and any other charges."

Read more:
PM pledges social media crackdown
'Mutinous mood' at UK's Foreign Office

The District Councils' Network, which represents 169 English councils, said councils and voters "will be bewildered by the unrelenting changes to the electoral timetable".

Richard Wright, chair of the DCN, added: "Councils were assured by the government that elections could be legally cancelled but now it seems ministers have come to the opposite conclusion.

"The councils affected face an unnecessary race against time to ensure elections proceed smoothly and fairly, with polling stations booked and electoral staff available."

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.

The Metropolitan Police said officers had made 248 arrests for stealing mobiles and seized about 770 devices, with a further 122 people arrested for other offences as part of a wider effort.

Commander Andrew Featherstone revealed "cutting-edge" technology like drones, e-bikes, and live facial recognition had been used "to identify and arrest suspects quickly".

"These tactics are delivering results," he added.

Year-on-year, the force said the number of recorded phone thefts had fallen by almost 10,000 - going from 81,365 in 2024, to 71,391 last year. In hot spots like the West End, phone theft is down by 30%.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said fewer Londoners were "facing the stress, cost, and disruption that comes with having their phone stolen" - but called on the courts to stop releasing repeat offenders.

Some phone thieves are being bailed "only to go out and offend again", he warned, "undermining the hard work officers are doing to keep communities safe".

He also urged tech giants to do more "to stop criminals being able to reset, reuse or resell stolen phones".

'Too many have been a victim'

The commisisoner's call was echoed by mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who said "too many Londoners have been the victim of phone theft".

Sir Sadiq added: "I'll continue to prioritise neighbourhood policing and will continue to push the mobile phone industry to go much further in preventing stolen phones being used, sold and repurposed, building a safer London for everyone."

Read more from Sky News:
New weather warnings for snow and ice
Hundreds of names in Epstein files released

It comes after the Met Police announced last year that officers had arrested 46 people, suspected of being part of a criminal network smuggling up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China.

Commander Featherstone described the operation at the time as "the largest crackdown on mobile phone theft and robbery in the UK".

Alfie Phillips, from Northampton, has fibular hemimelia, a rare condition that affects fewer than one in 40,000 births in the UK each year.

It caused his right leg not to develop properly, leaving it about four centimetres shorter than his left. According to specialists, it would have grown to be six centimetres shorter by the time he was 16.

Speaking to the Press Association (PA), Alfie said his schoolmates used to say "I ran a bit different, and I couldn't skip", and that by the time he was five, "it started to get a bit annoying".

"If they ever wanted a conversation, other than my friends, it was always going to be about my condition," he added.

"When I was obviously a lot younger, I didn't think it was any different because I grew up with it."

The operation explained

Doctors were able to extend Alfie's leg by installing a lengthening nail on the surface of his thigh bone.

This was then slowly pulled apart by a special magnet, used three times a day for a month, with the body creating new bone tissue to fill the gap.

Procedures using lengthening nails - fitted inside the bone - were not previously available to younger children due to the risk of damage.

But before the operation at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, Alfie's only option for treatment was to have an external frame fixed to his bone from the outside of his limb.

Treatment started in March last year. Almost a year on, Alfie said he's feeling good and enjoys being taller than his friends.

"I can just tower over them now… I like doing basketball a lot," he said.

'That leg difference became a lot more significant'

Laura Ducker, Alfie's mum, told PA her son was diagnosed with fibular hemimelia within six months being born.

His father first raised concerns when he noticed his son only had three toes on one foot, but Alfie met all his milestones as a baby as expected.

Ms Ducker, who is an NHS midwife, said while "it really didn't affect him massively when he was little", as he got older, "that leg difference became a lot more significant".

There was a risk it could cause problems with Alfie's hips and joints, she said, and so sought advice from Alder Hey's consultant orthopaedic surgeon Nick Peterson after hearing about him on a Facebook support group.

Read more from Sky News:
New weather warnings for snow and ice
Obama says aliens 'are real'
Royal Mail warns of service delays

'Unheard of' recovery

Describing Alfie's recovery, Mr Peterson told PA his team was left "amazed" by Alfie's rapid recovery.

"After about seven days, his pain score went down to zero out of 10, which is pretty much unheard of," he said.

"He didn't require anything other than the occasional paracetamol after a few days, and that was it. That is extremely unusual.

"So his recovery was remarkably quick and really, really impressive."

The Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker died peacefully at home on Sunday, his wife Luciana said, in a statement paying tribute.

"Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time," she said, adding that he "passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort".

"To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything. His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court," Luciana said.

"For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented.

"In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all. Thank you for the years of support you showed Bob and for giving us this time and privacy to celebrate the memories he leaves behind."

More tributes to Duvalll - including Al Pacino

From army man to leading man

Duvall grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a Navy admiral and an amateur actress.

After graduating from Principia College in ​Illinois and serving in the US Army, he moved to New York - where he lived with Dustin Hoffman and befriended Gene Hackman when the three were struggling acting students.

He appeared in various Broadway and off-Broadway plays, including productions of Arthur Miller's The Crucible and A View From The Bridge, and had TV roles before making his big screen debut in the 1963 adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, playing Arthur "Boo" Radley.

During his prolific career on screen, Duvall created a range of unforgettable characters that made him one of Hollywood's greats.

'One of the best in the world'

He earned his first Oscar nomination in the best supporting actor category for playing Mafia consigliere Tom Hagen in 1972's The Godfather - a role he reprised in The Godfather Part II.

In 1979, he was nominated in the supporting category once again, this time for his scene-stealing performance as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in 1979's Apocalypse Now.

Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who directed both films, once described him as being "one of the four or five best actors in the world" in an interview with People Magazine.

Duvall received seven Academy Award nominations in total - taking home the statuette for best actor in 1984 for Tender Mercies, in which he played a country music star recovering from alcoholism - and was also nominated for eight Golden Globe awards.

Read more from Sky News:
Derry Girls creator talks about her new show
Chadwick Boseman's brothers on late star's play

Some of his other notable films include The Natural (1984), Colors (1988), Days Of Thunder (1990), Deep Impact (1998) and A Civil Action (1998), Gone In 60 Seconds (2000), Gods And Generals (2003), We Own the Night (2007) and The Judge (2014), as well as The Apostle in 1997, which he directed, wrote and starred in.