Gullis wants to lead 'flagship' Reform council

A former Conservative MP who is likely to become the leader of a Reform UK-controlled council wants it to become the "flagship" local authority for the party.

Jonathan Gullis, who defected to Reform last year, was selected as group leader in Newcastle-under-Lyme, after the party won control during the local elections on 7 May.

The ex-deputy Tory party chair was one of 27 Reform councillors elected, taking the authority from the Tories, which won 15 seats. Reform needed at least 23 seats to form a majority on the authority.

Gullis's selection as group leader means he is likely to be elected as head of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council when members meet on Wednesday.

He told BBC Radio Stoke he was excited but nervous, because it was a "huge amount of responsibility that's been shouldered on the Reform UK group".

"I'm honoured to have earned the trust of my colleagues to lead them into what is going to be a difficult time, with the current cost of living pressures that impacts not just households but local authorities too," he said.

Gullis, who was MP for Stoke-on-Trent North from 2019 to 2024, said he wanted the authority to "focus on what mattered" to residents.

The council's finances would be scrutinised, he said, with a particular focus on how much the authority spends on net zero initiatives.

Gullis said he would also "un-declare" the climate emergency the council declared in 2019, describing it as a "gimmick".

Measures of the new administration would also include improving the borough's parks, investing in high streets, reducing the number of HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) and tackling anti-social behaviour.

"I want this council to be the Reform UK flagship council in the country so we can build confidence with voters," he added.

He would also work with colleagues, including the area's Labour MPs, on issues like Walleys Quarry, which he previously said had caused "misery" for residents.

The local elections took 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 this summer, with the unitary councils taking over in 2028.

This would mean Newcastle's newly-elected borough councillors would only serve half of their four-year terms before the authority was abolished.

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