Newcastle calls for new mayoral authority to stave off Stoke merger

Newcastle-under-Lyme leader Jonathan Gullis has called on PM-in-waiting Andy Burnham to scrap ‘wasteful’ plans to merge the borough with other Staffordshire councils.

The government is due to make a decision on controversial plans to abolish eight ‘two tier’ district and borough councils in the county by 17 July, with a preferred system of larger unitary authorities set to replace them.

Five reorganisation proposals are on the table for Staffordshire, reluctantly put forward by the county’s existing county councils, which have been met with varying levels of opposition so far – ranging from strong to livid.

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Tending towards the latter sentiment is Newcastle-under-Lyme, whose opposition Conservative Party have tabled a motion outlining their opposition to any changes which would see them merged with neighbouring Stoke-on-Trent.

The council’s Reform leader, Cllr Gullis, has also written to both the Housing Secretary and Andy Burnham to spell out Newcastle’s reluctance to be merged into a larger authority.

Instead, Gullis wants to see the existing Staffordshire councils retained to form a strategic mayoral authority with neighbouring Shropshire, a move he says would provide stronger regional leadership and greater devolution benefits – without a costly blitz on the status quo.

“The administration remains opposed to local government reorganisation and is unhappy it is being imposed on councils at a time when it should not be the priority for local government,” he will tell a meeting of Newcastle-under-Lyme’s full council this week.

“Forced reorganisation risks consuming significant officer time, public money and political attention at precisely the moment when local authorities should be focused on frontline services, financial discipline, community safety, housing, planning and the visible priorities residents expect us to deliver.

“This administration will continue to make the case that Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council should not be abolished and that residents should not lose meaningful local accountability.”

Successive governments have backed all-powerful unitary authorities as a more efficient system over the traditional county and district council structure, which splits responsibilities for delivering services between two tiers of local government.

Last year, all remaining 21 English county councils were asked to effectively put forward proposals for their own extinction, part of local government reorganisation reforms put forward in the 2024 English devolution white paper.

In a statement to the House of Commons in February 2025, housing minister Jim McMahon said new councils should aim to serve populations of at least 500,000 – adding that existing, smaller unitary authorities might also be considered for mergers.

Already a unitary authority, but struggling financially, Shropshire has previously made overtures to neighbouring authorities about joint working as a way of cutting its costs and achieving better national representation.

Around 330,000 people reside in Shropshire’s geographic area, far fewer than Staffordshire, which reaches around 1.2m when including residents in Stoke-on-Trent.

Council leader Cllr Heather Kidd played down any prospect that the two authorities would work together on a spatial development strategy earlier this year.

Shropshire Council was contacted for comment.