Britain on Friday announced it was delaying May's local elections - including for London mayor - for a year due to the outbreak of coronavirus. "We will bring forward legislation to postpone local, mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections until May next year," a government spokesman said. The Electoral Commission had on Thursday written to ministers warning of "real risks" to holding the elections as planned on May 7.

It warned that the spread of coronavirus would inevitably impact on campaigning, and feared that many people would not feel able or willing to vote. "Clearly any decisions to delay elections which are due is significant and would not normally be desirable," it said in a statement.

"However, we are in unprecedented times." The decision affects local authority elections across the country, as well as the London race, where Labour mayor Sadiq Khan was seeking a second four-year term.