Devon councillors have expressed their fears about how safe and practical it is for the May local elections to go ahead as planned.

Last Friday, the government confirmed that the May 6 elections would be going ahead as scheduled, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

They said that that the public health response to COVID-19, not least the vaccination programme, meant that they could go ahead with the polls with confidence.

They are now working with the Electoral Commission to ensure how social distancing and other rules apply specifically to all aspects of the polls, and they will maintain the choice for voters between in person and absent voting (using a postal or proxy vote).

As well as the delayed 2020 local elections in Exeter and Plymouth, and the Police and Crime Commissioner elections, the regularly scheduled 2021 Devon County Council elections will take place, as well as a series of delayed by-elections, and Neighbourhood Plan referendums on May 6.

There will be an estimated £92million of government grant funding that will be provided to local authorities for the elections; of this, £31million is an uplift to directly address costs associated with making the elections COVID-19 secure.

The government said: "Everyone who feels comfortable going to a supermarket or a post office should also feel confident attending a polling station in May. We encourage anybody who is shielding, or who would prefer not to attend a polling station, to apply for a postal or proxy vote ahead of the polls."

But concerns have been raised by existing Devon county councillors over whether it is necessary to hold the elections in May and, given the current guidance that canvassing and leafleting as part of campaigning would be against the law, how safe and fair they will be for independent candidates.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked all 60 current Devon county councillors for their views as to whether the elections should be going ahead in May.

Cllr Martin Shaw, who represents Seaton and Colyton, said he disagreed with the decision to go ahead with the elections but he was standing.

"The government's proposals for how the elections will be run blatantly benefit their own party. I am particularly concerned that they are banning leafleting and canvassing by candidates, which will penalise independents like myself as well as the less well funded parties, while increasing the spending limits for candidates which will benefit the Tories, who will flood the electorate with commercially delivered leaflets funded by their wealthy donors.

"At the same time, they are doing nothing to make postal voting easier. At the moment you have to print off a form from the internet and post it in – this penalises many younger voters who don't have printers. They should at least create a secure process to allow people to apply online.

"I have a motion coming to the county council on February 18 calling for postponement, and if the elections are to go ahead, for online postal vote applications and for free postal deliveries for all council candidates."

Axminster's Conservative councillor Ian Hall gave a particularly strong response, saying he may not stand for re-election if it means putting the public's health at risk.

He said: "We have to be emotionally intelligent. I for one won't be able look in the mirror if I am part of a decision making process that could potentially put the public at risk, and if a wrong decision is made, on balance and risk, I may decide not to run at the next election primarily because I think there is a duty to protect my fellow human beings and not a real necessary need to do it.

"I for one only have to do one thing at the end of the day and that's look in the mirror to see if I have done right by the people I represent."

A spokesman for Devon County Council said: "We have been preparing to hold the elections in May for some time with extra safety measures in place at polling stations and at the vote counts. However there are alternatives in place for those who do not want to cast their vote in person, for example postal votes."

Phil Norrey, the council's chief executive, had previously added: "No doubt that holding elections in May will be a huge challenge and we will be doing our best to support that if we have to do it. It might be safer to have a delay and there was a concern about how feasible it is."