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

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

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

Martin Rogerson, newly-elected for Talke and Butt Lane, 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's local election.

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".

Counting in Cannock Chase is due to get under way later.

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

The Conservatives claimed 15 seats and Labour just two.

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

The average turnout was 47.8%, an increase on the 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 Conservative councillor for Maer and Whitmore.

Both Conservative group leader Simon Tagg and Labour group leader Dave Jones clung onto the Westlands and Keele seats respectively.

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

The borough had been seen as part of the "red wall" and was represented by a Labour member of Parliament 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 which was the last time the whole borough was up for election.

Despite a comprehensive victory in Tamworth, Reform's UK's success there was overshadowed by the outcome of the poll being shared to 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 councillor, three Conservatives and two independents.

Paul Turner, who stood for the party having previously been an independent councillor, and a Conservative councillor 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.

Cannock Chase has also been historically considered a Labour heartland, and the district council the party held 18 of the 36 seats going into Thursday's election.

Even though only a third of the seats were being contested, the battle for those 12 seats could easily see a shift in power.

In 2025, Reform took all eight of Cannock's county divisions, a success they will be looking to build on this year. The Greens will also be looking to expand their representation here.

Some of the wards up for grabs include Norton Canes, Hednesford and Brereton.

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