“A shameful betrayal”: Government backs abolition of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council

The Borough will be forced into a new unitary authority alongside Stoke-on-Trent and the Staffordshire Moorlands.

Under the decision, the 10 existing councils across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent will be replaced by two unitary authorities.

With one council covering Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and the Staffordshire Moorlands, the other will cover the remainder of Staffordshire.

Subject to the necessary legislation and parliamentary approval, elections to the new shadow authorities are expected to take place in May 2027, with the new councils becoming fully operational in April 2028.

Day-to-day services will continue unchanged for the time being, with existing councils still delivering their existing responsibilities.

After the transition the unitary authorities will deliver all council services in their area, from children’s services, adult social care, highways, waste collection, parks, planning, housing and environmental health.

Cllr Jonathan Gullis, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Cabinet member for Planning and Town Centres, said:

This is a shameful betrayal of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the people who call our Borough home.
 

Ministers have ignored more than 11,000 residents who signed the petition. They have ignored the clear cross-party position of the Borough Council. They have ignored local people who overwhelmingly said that, if reorganisation was forced upon us, Newcastle-under-Lyme must remain independent.
 

Instead, Whitehall has chosen to abolish a proud and successful Borough Council, end more than 853 years of independent local government and force our communities into a vast North Staffordshire super-council dominated by Stoke-on-Trent.
 

Newcastle-under-Lyme did not ask for this. Residents did not vote for this. There was no local mandate for it, no convincing case for it and no justification for wiping our Borough Council off the map.”

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council formally opposed the merger and argued that, if the Government insisted on reorganisation, a standalone unitary authority should be created on the existing Borough boundaries.

The Council’s case highlighted Newcastle-under-Lyme’s strong local identity, stable finances and record of delivering effective local services. In the Council’s public engagement, 59 per cent of respondents supported a Newcastle-only unitary authority.

At its meeting on 8 July, the Council reaffirmed its opposition to Local Government Reorganisation and specifically rejected a merger between Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent.

Cllr Gullis said:

The Government asked for local views and then disregarded them. It invited councils to submit evidence and then rejected the model supported by our residents. It spoke about strengthening local democracy while choosing the option that makes decision-making bigger, more remote and less accountable.
 

There is nothing efficient about spending huge sums of taxpayers’ money abolishing well-run councils, transferring thousands of staff and merging complex services merely to create another layer of distant bureaucracy.
 

Our residents will rightly ask why money that could have regenerated our high streets, improved parks and strengthened frontline services is instead being spent dismantling their Borough Council.
 

I will never pretend that this is the right decision, because it is not. I will never claim that Newcastle-under-Lyme consented to this merger, because it did not.”

He added:

But my responsibility as Leader is also to protect residents from the consequences of the Government’s decision.
 

We will now fight Newcastle-under-Lyme’s corner throughout every stage of the transition. We will demand fair representation and ensure that our residents and communities receive their fair share of resources.
 

We will fight to protect the Borough’s assets, its civic traditions, its historic identity and the strong connection between local people and those who represent them.
 

The Government may abolish Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, but it will not abolish Newcastle-under-Lyme.
 

Our towns, villages and communities will not lose their identity. We will not allow Newcastle-under-Lyme to become an afterthought or a forgotten suburb of Stoke-on-Trent.
 

We remain a Loyal and Ancient Borough. We remain proud of who we are. And throughout this unwanted process, Newcastle-under-Lyme will continue to stand tall.”

Simon Tagg, Leader of the Conservative Group on Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, and former Council leader who has campaigned against forced Local Government Reorganisation, said:

This decision disregards the wishes of residents who made clear that a forced merger was unwanted and unwelcome.
 

It is a disgrace that our history and heritage should be disregarded in this way.
 

Any restructuring of services, which will include the provision of care for vulnerable children and adults, will be complex, expensive and challenging to deliver in the time expected.
 

Existing structures work well for residents in Newcastle and it has never been guaranteed that this unsought change will provide better services for residents.
 

Now we must work hard, with others, on behalf of residents to achieve the best deal possible to protect their best interests.”

No announcement was made on the creation of a Strategic Authority covering Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

A Strategic Authority would receive devolved powers and funding in areas including transport, infrastructure, skills and regional investment.

Cllr Gullis said:

Forcing through the abolition of our councils without delivering meaningful regional devolution would be the worst of all worlds.
 

The Government is taking local power away from Newcastle-under-Lyme while failing to give Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent the strategic powers and investment already enjoyed by neighbouring regions.
 

Ministers must urgently set out a route to a Mayoral Strategic Authority. Reorganisation cannot simply mean bigger councils, fewer representatives and more distant decisions while Whitehall keeps hold of the power and the money.”

The Government’s recommended reorganisation is:

‘North Staffordshire’, including the areas of: Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands and Stoke-on-Trent.

‘South Staffordshire’, including the areas of: Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, South Staffordshire, Stafford and Tamworth.