Reform gains control of Newcastle-under-Lyme in historic night for party

Reform UK has gained control of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council in a historic night for the party in Staffordshire.

Reform took 27 seats, with the Conservatives retaining 15 and Labour two.

Martin Rogerson, Reform's branch chairman for Newcastle-under-Lyme, said: "We've come out on top, but we've got a job to do - we'll do the best for the people who elected us."

Nigel Farage's party also won all nine seats up for grabs in Tamworth as well as all 13 contested on Cannock Chase District Council, leaving both with no majority party.

In Cannock Chase, Labour lost eight seats to Reform, which became the largest party with 14 councillors.

Labour remained the largest party in Tamworth, however, having lost the only seat it was defending.

Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice said he was "absolutely delighted" with the results and said voters had turned out to "repaint the red wall, the turquoise wall".

In Newcastle-under-Lyme, Reform UK needed 23 seats for a majority and won 27.

The Conservatives claimed 15 seats and Labour two.

Going into the election, the Conservatives had 26 seats, with 17 for Labour and one for Reform UK.

Turnout was 47.8%, an increase on 43% in 2022.

Among those elected were former Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North Jonathan Gullis, who is now a Reform councillor for Kidsgrove and Ravenscliffe.

Another former Conservative MP, Jeremy Lefroy, was elected as a councillor for Maer and Whitmore.

Both Tory group leader Simon Tagg and Labour group leader Dave Jones clung on to their Westlands and Keele seats respectively.

Jones described the elections as "humbling" for his party.

Rogerson, who was elected for Talke and Butt Lane, said: "We are delighted and humbled that people have placed their trust in us and I promise that we will get to work straight away delivering local services."

He also called the night "historic" and said he was pleased "all the hard work's paid off".

The borough had been seen as part of the "red wall" having been represented by a Labour MP for a century - until Tory Aaron Bell was elected in 2019.

Adam Jogee then won back the parliamentary seat for Labour in 2024.

However, the Conservatives have run the borough council since 2018 and strengthened their hold by taking majority control in 2022, the last time the whole borough was up for election.

This year's elections take place with the shadow of local government reorganisation looming over Staffordshire.

All 10 city, county, district and borough councils in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent are due to be abolished and replaced with new unitary authorities.

The government is expected to make a decision on the new model of local government in Staffordshire this summer, with new unitary authorities taking over in 2028.

This would mean the borough councillors newly-elected in Newcastle would only serve half their four-year terms.

But Rogerson said he was not worried about having to do it all over again.

"We're getting used to it, so it should be another great win," he said.

Despite a comprehensive victory in Tamworth, Reform UK's success was overshadowed by the outcome of the poll being shared on social media before the official declaration was made, which is a breach of electoral law.

Returning officer Stephen Gabriel said the authority was aware of the outcome being posted in a Facebook group before being confirmed or announced.

"We took immediate action and called the current Reform councillor forward to discuss, ask [for] it to be removed, and reminded of the secrecy requirements of the count," he said.

"This is a very serious issue and it was made clear that [it was] reported to the single point of contact at Staffordshire Police."

Tice said voters recognised that they were "real people, in the real world" adding that they would learn from mistakes made.

"No-one's complacent, no-one's perfect, we never stop learning - that's what we do in life," he said.

As the council is elected in thirds, not all of its seats were up for grabs.

Labour has 14 councillors on the authority but Reform UK now has 10 councillors in total, having won a by-election in the Spital ward earlier this year.

Of the remaining six councillors, there is one Green, three Conservatives and two independents.

Paul Turner, who stood for Reform having previously been an independent councillor, and a Conservative representative before that, said his top priority was to bring about a smooth transition to a unitary authority.

"No silly antics, we won't be playing party politics with it, we will deliver for Tamworth," he said.

A further election in the Wilnecote ward in Tamworth will take place at a later date, due to the death of one of the candidates in the weeks before the polls opened.

The elections in Cannock Chase, long considered a Labour heartland, saw a sweep for Reform, which won all 13 seats being contested, making it the largest party on the authority with 14 councillors, though not enough to win overall control.

Labour lost eight seats, leaving it with 10 councillors, while the Conservatives have eight, the Greens three and one independent.

The big casualty of the night was council leader Steve Thornley, who lost his Cannock Park and Old Fallow seat to Reform's Mandy Jane Bell.

The Labour man said it was a "disappointing result" and said his party's share of the vote had "collapsed".

"We're going to have to live with the consequences of that," he added.

He said he put the result down to the "manipulation of the right-wing press", as well as the "litany of lies Reform have put forward" and "misdirection" within the Labour Party.

"Labour needs to get back to Labour Party values very, very quickly," he added.

Reform's Alex Robert Hunt, who won the Chadsmoor seat, said it was an "absolutely amazing outcome".

"People have come out to vote for Reform, to vote for change," he added.

Asked if there would be an agreement with the Conservatives to lead the council, he said: "Everyone cares about the community, the Conservatives, Labour, everyone.

"If we give the best argument for change and give the correct evidence for how we can make that best change, then they'll work with us.

"That's what we need to do, we need to work to convince our opposition to work alongside us on the change that we all agree needs to happen."

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