Former Stoke-on-Trent North MP Jonathan Gullis was one of the more notable victors in the Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council elections last week, which saw Reform UK sweep to power.
The outspoken politician, who defected from the Tories to Reform UK last year, was among the 27 Reform councillors elected across Newcastle as the Tories lost their majority (writes local democracy reporter Phil Corrigan).
But he is not the only ex-MP now serving on the borough council, following Thursday’s all-out elections.
Jeremy Lefroy, who was the Conservative MP for Stafford from 2010 to 2019, was elected as the new Tory councillor for Maer and Whitmore.
Mr Lefroy also previously served on the borough council between 2003 and 2007, which included a stint as cabinet member for finance. He said it was a “real honour” to be elected as a borough councillor again – and raised concerns over the future of Newcastle with local government reorganisation looming over Staffordshire.
The borough council is due to be abolished and replaced with a new unitary authority as early as 2028.
Mr Lefroy said: “When I left Parliament in 2019, I wasn’t really planning on making a return like this. But when the opportunity came along I decided to take the chance to serve the borough and Staffordshire.
“I’m a great supporter of the borough of Newcastle, but it faces being effectively abolished under local government reorganisation. In this country we already have fewer elected representatives compared to other countries in Europe, so LGR will be bad for democracy as well.”
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Rise
The big story from the elections in Newcastle was Reform UK’s rise to power.
Twelve months after the party took control of Staffordshire County Council, Reform secured a majority on the borough council, ending nine years of Conservative rule.
Reform UK took seats from both the Tories and Labour, who were reduced to just 15 and two councillors respectively.
Going into the elections, Silverdale had one Conservative and one Labour councillor but it now has two Reform councillors, Martyn Ashworth and Ian Sparks.
Mr Sparks said: “People in Silverdale are crying out for change and that is what we’re going to deliver for them.”
Mr Ashworth said: “We’re going to give people a strong voice and be a visible presence in the ward. The roads in Silverdale are in a terrible state at the moment, so we’ll be raising that with the county council.”
Paul Wood claimed one of the biggest scalps of the night for Reform when he defeated Conservative deputy council leader Stephen Sweeney in Clayton.
He said: “I put my win down to hard work, a promise to deliver for the people of Clayton ward, and my views coinciding with those of the electorate.”
Reform UK saw some of its biggest wins in the Kidsgrove area.
In the Kidsgrove and Ravenscliffe ward, Mr Gullis received 1,335 votes, while his Reform colleagues Charlie Clarke and Olivia Wozny received 1,218 and 1,126 respectively, meaning the party took all three seats by a huge margin. Fourth-place candidate Silvia Burgess received just 546 votes.
It was a similar story in Talke and Butt Lane, where the three Reform candidates – Gary Evans, Simon Kasperowicz and Martin Rogerson – each received more than 1,200 votes, well ahead of the three sitting Labour councillors.
It was a miserable night all round for Labour, as their numbers dwindled from 17 councillors to just two – group leader Dave Jones in Keele and Sheelagh Casey-Hulme in Town were the party’s only survivors.
Husband-and-wife Labour councillors John and Gill Williams, who have amassed 64 years of service on the borough council between them, lost to Reform UK candidates Mark Harrison and Christopher Saxton in Cross Heath.
John said: “It is really sad that we’ve lost, but I think we achieved a lot for Cross Heath. We’re still going to live here and be part of the community.
“When we were first elected we were still working, and we’ve continued to be councillors during our retirement, so now we move onto the next chapter of our lives.”
Gill added: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a borough councillor. I’m sad we lost but we are both getting to an age now.”
Local results
Newchapel and Mow Cop (two seats): Keith Cooper (Labour) 381; Gordon Davies (Independent) 236; Cressida Dickens (Conservative) 251; Jonathan Downs (Reform UK) 968; Sarah Pickup (Labour) 356; Jozsef Spekker (Conservative) 204; Scott Stevenson (Reform UK) 911; Ray Williams (Independent) 231.
Kidsgrove and Ravenscliffe (three seats): Mark Allen (Labour) 492; Silvia Burgess (Labour) 546; Rebecca Carter (TUSC) 77; Kienen Catterall (Green) 273; Charlie Clarke (Reform UK) 1,218; Michael Dowler (Conservative) 249; Jonathan Gullis (Reform UK) 1,335; John Heesom (Conservative) 239; Simon Jones (Conservative) 328; Jason Owen (Labour) 388; Adam Rollison (Green) 244; Olivia Wozny (Reform UK) 1,126.
Talke and Butt Lane (three seats): David Allport (Labour) 712; Julie Dunlevy (Conservative) 306; Sylvia Dymond (Labour) 746; Gary Evans (Reform UK) 1,306; Trevor Johnson (Conservative) 270; Simon Kasperowicz (Reform UK) 1,224; Laura Matthews (Conservative) 272; Martin Rogerson (Reform UK) 1,259; Michael Stubbs (Labour) 680.
