Five things to watch: Staffordshire politics 2026

If Staffordshire's political scene was anything to go by in 2025, then this year has a lot to live up to.

Last year, Reform UK secured a historic county council majority, there was a push for unitary authorities as part of a local government reorganisation and leadership turmoil at the county council.

In the absence of a crystal ball here's a run through of political moments we can expect to affect residents in the coming year.

The fallout of a racism scandal, likely council tax increases and a decision on how services in Staffordshire will be run from 2028 are all on the table.

A priority for Reform-led Staffordshire County Council in the new year is to appoint a new permanent leader for both the party group and the authority itself.

It's after Ian Cooper had his membership of Reform revoked after a party investigation into his social media use following claims of racist posts found on an account on X thought to be linked to him. He then stood down as leader, to serve as an independent.

Martin Murray has stepped in as acting leader on an interim basis until a new council leader is elected.

Protesters interrupted the last full council meeting of the year, calling for two other cabinet members also linked with racism allegations, to resign.

Reform has said it will not take action, as Chris Large denied writing or endorsing racist comments, and Peter Mason apologised for his posts.

We can expect the outcome of the council's complaints and standards process. If any complaints were made about Cooper the authority can take action if he's deemed to have broken the code of conduct.

The new year will bring a new proposed council tax bill to people living in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. Both authorities hiked council tax up by 4.99% in 2025.

A report in August revealed Stoke-on-Trent City Council was facing an overspend of almost £14m, with children's care placements accounting for about £7.9m of that.

Council leaders said the aim was to improve the financial position of the authority by reducing the number of children in care and bringing down the amount spent on private sector placements. The number of children in care went up in June.

Stoke-on-Trent was also one of 29 struggling councils that needed an emergency loan from the government to help stabilise finances and avoid cuts to front-line services. The authority used £16.8m from the Exceptional Financial Support Fund last year, and £42.2m the year before, which means the debt, and the interest, is racking up.

Meanwhile, Staffordshire County Council has a budget of £734m, two thirds of which funds social care. The authority said it had managed to save £1m in six months by using cash reserves instead of borrowing.

The amount each council gets from government is a crucial indicator of how healthy their budgets will be in 2026.

The skyline of Stafford and Newcastle-under-Lyme town centres will dramatically change this year.

Regeneration is moving at wrecking-ball pace in Stafford, after the borough council purchased the Guildhall Shopping centre and former Co-op department store in the town centre.

A large part of the site is being demolished on the high street, to be redeveloped into commercial, retail, and residential buildings, while keeping the traditional frontages.

The authority was given £14.3m by the government in 2020 to help fund the town centre regeneration project.

In Newcastle-under-Lyme, a number of big projects have started, which include the redevelopment of brownfield sites, like York Place shopping centre, Midway multi-storey car park and the former Zanzibar nightclub.

By the end of 2026, the York Place scheme is scheduled to be complete, which will include 42 flats, commercial space and a music venue.

The empty Ryecroft site is also being transformed into homes and a new community park.

In 2027, the Midway car park will be transformed into flats, a gym and mini-cinema.

In the summer, the government is expected to make a decision about how services in the county will be run from 2028.

The biggest shake-up of local government since the 1970s is coming to Staffordshire, with the county's 10-council structure set to be abolished and replaced with fewer, bigger, unitary authorities that are responsible for all services from social care to bin collections.

The government said this would streamline services, devolve powers and save money.

Councils have already submitted their proposals to ministers on how Staffordshire should be split - luckily we have a handy guide to the five models they've come up with.

The shake-up is likely to see a directly elected mayor overseeing two unitary councils.

The government will make the final decision on which model to adopt, if any, in shaping a new political landscape for Staffordshire.

Voters are set to go to the polls in local council elections in May 2026.

The market town is seen as a barometer for how political parties are performing nationally.

Newcastle, as it stands, is a bit of a political "pick n mix", represented by a Labour MP, run by a Conservative-led borough council. Reform took eight of the nine county council divisions in 2025.

The ballots will be for 44 Newcastle-under-Lyme borough councillors, and 12 seats in Cannock Chase.

Eyes will be on the borough to see if Reform can maintain their momentum or whether 2025 was a high-water mark for the party.

This election will also be the last before the borough council is abolished and replaced.

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