The Local Elections and Register of Electors (Temporary Provisions) Act 1939 (2 & 3 Geo.6 c. 115) was a war time Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 that postponed local elections and the preparation of registers of electors. Initially the postponement was for one year, but the Act was renewed annually until the electoral cycle was resumed in 1945 following the cessation of hostilities.

Provisions

The Act had ten sections.

• Section 1 provided that:

"While this Act is in force, no local election shall be held and any alderman, councillor or elective auditor in office at the commencement of this Act shall continue in office".

Where casual vacancies occurred, these were to be filled by the councils concerned who were given the power to appoint (or co-opt) any qualified person they wished.

• Section 2 provided that the registers of electors and jurors books in force in 1938 should remain valid

• Section 3 relieved the local authorities were relieved of the duty of compiling new registers and other duties concerned with local elections.

• Section 4 extended the postponement to the Common Council of the City of London
  City of London
  The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
  
  .

• Section 5 dealt with newly incorporated municipal borough
  Municipal borough
  Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
  
  s, which were due to have the first election of councillors on 1 November 1939. The section provided that the councillors of the predecessor urban
  Urban district
  In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
  
   or rural district
  Rural district
  Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
  
   would become borough councillors without the need for a fresh election. Where the number of councillors for the new borough exceeded those of the district council, the district councillors were given the power to appoint additional members. The new council was also to proceed with the election of aldermen
  Alderman
  An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
  
   as provided by their charter
  Royal Charter
  A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
  
  .

• Section 6 prevented changes to the areas or status of local authorities. Specifically it stated that no order could come into force that:
  • Altered or defined the boundaries of any county, borough, urban or rural district or parish
  • Divided any borough or urban district or parish into wards, or alter the boundaries of any ward in a borough or urban district or parish
  • Grouped any parishes or dissolved any group of parishes or established a separate parish council for any parish
  • Altered the boundaries of the electoral divisions of any county
  • Altered the number of councillors of any county council, borough council, urban or rural district council or parish council or dissolved any parish council
  • Formed a new urban or rural district or parish
  • Divided any county or urban or rural district or parish
  • United any county with any other county or with any county borough, or united any county borough with a county, or united any borough with any other borough, or united any urban or rural district with any other such district, whether urban or rural, or united any parish with another parish
  • Included in a borough an urban or rural district,
  • Transferred a part of a non-county borough to an urban or rural district, or transferred the whole or part of an urban or rural district to a non-county borough,
  • Transferred any part of an urban or rural district to another such district, whether urban or rural, or transferred any part of a parish to another parish
  • Converted any rural district or any part of a rural district into an urban district or any urban district or any part of an urban district into a rural district
• Section 7 dealt with the definitions of the various terms in the Act
• Section 8 applied the Act to Scotland, substituting the terms "burgh
  Burgh
  A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
  
  " and "district" where appropriate.
• Section 9 applied the Act to Northern Ireland
  Northern Ireland
  Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
  
  . Elections were not cancelled, but the Government of Northern Ireland
  Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland
  The Executive Committee or the Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland was the government of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Generally known as either the Cabinet or the Government, the Executive Committee existed from 1922 to 1972...
  
   was relieved of the responsibility of compiling a new register of electors.
• Section 10 gave the short title
  Short title
  The short title is the formal name by which a piece of primary legislation may by law be cited in the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions , as well as the United States. It contrasts with the long title which, while usually being more fully descriptive of the...
  
  of the Act, and provided that it would expire on 31 December 1940, with councillors and aldermen entitled to remain in office for six months after that date, or to such date as parliament decided.

Renewal

With the continuation of the war until 1945, the provisions of the 1939 legislation had to be renewed on five further occasions by the Local Elections and Register of Electors (Temporary Provisions) Acts of 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944.