“Elections should go ahead” the leader of Hampshire County Council has said, as councillors unanimously backed holding May’s polls despite “uncertainty” over government plans.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after an extraordinary full council meeting on January 12, council leader Nick Adams-King said it was clear that members believed the elections must proceed as scheduled.

The meeting was called in response to a government letter suggesting elections in some areas could be delayed.

Last month, the Minister for Local Government, Alison McGovern, wrote to 63 including Hampshire, saying elections could be postponed where there were concerns about capacity.

However, the leader of the council said that while cancelling elections would technically create more capacity for the council, that could never be a justification for postponement.

“Not having elections would create more capacity, but that’s always the answer, because if you don’t do one thing, it must give you more space to do something else.”

Cllr Adams-King added that in responding to government he would be clear that capacity concerns were not a reason to delay the polls.

“That’s not a reason to postpone the elections. If they have to postpone something because they can’t give us the answers we need in time, they need to postpone their plan and give us more time to deliver it safely and effectively.”

He said the council had no concerns about its ability to run an election.

“We can run an election tomorrow – that’s not an issue at all,” he said.

Instead, he said the real concern was that councils are limited in the decisions they can make during the election period and in the weeks afterwards while new councillors settle in.

“If you are holding an election there is a period of time when we can’t make decisions. That is always going to be the case.”

Cllr Adams-King said his concern was that government might expect councils to implement major changes during that period.

“My fear is that they look at that and say they want to tell us what to start doing during the period when those polls would be happening.

“If that is the case, they should be clear and honest about it. At the end of the day, we don’t postpone elections, they do. They are the ones creating the problem and the uncertainty, and they are the ones who should own this and decide what’s best.”

During the extraordinary full meeting, Cllr Gavin James said that if elections were delayed, he would resign from his seat in March to trigger a by-election as a way of ensuring voters could still go to the polls.

Asked about the possibility of multiple councillors resigning and forcing dozens of by-elections, Cllr Adams-King said further discussions would be needed among members.

“I know a number of people who agreed to go on for a year, but they have plans. Others want to move on and there would be by-elections undoubtedly.”

However, he warned there were significant risks to the functioning of the council if large numbers of councillors resigned at the same time.

“If everybody suddenly says they are going to resign and cause by-elections, you then don’t have a functioning council because you don’t have councillors.”

He added that councillors are required to take decisions and that their absence could leave the authority unable to act.

“You are looking at a period of well over two months in which no decisions would be made. That would be a very big risk to residents.”

On a clear message to residents, Cllr Adams-King said the issue was ultimately a matter for government, but every county councillor has said that elections must happen.

“They have asked our opinion, and we have said unanimously that the elections should go ahead.

“I love doing my job and I love being a county councillor, but it is entirely right that people should decide whether they want me to continue in that role, and they should make that decision on May 7.”