Cannock Chase Council has entered a new era with its first Reform UK leader. The authority is now under no overall control after Labour lost administration of the authority earlier this month.
Former council leader Steve Thornley, deputy leader Garry Samuels, and cabinet members Sue Thornley and David Williams were among those who lost their seats at the May 7 elections, cutting Labour's share of the seats from 18 to 10. In contrast, Reform UK swept to victory, claiming all 13 seats up for grabs earlier this month. They are now the largest party on the council, with 14 seats, but not enough to hold an overall majority.
The new leader of the council is Paul Jones, who was elected to the top spot at Wednesday's annual council meeting (May 20). He made history last year by becoming the first Reform UK member to join the authority after winning a summer by-election. Speaking after his appointment as leader, he said: "As a group we hope to work with other parties collaboratively and deliver our main objectives, which are the museum, Prince of Wales Theatre and regeneration."
Deputy leader will be fellow former Conservative Richard Craddock. He was the only councillor to retain his seat at last month's elections. The other cabinet members will be councillors who were elected to the district authority less than two weeks ago. They are Councillors Georgina Jeffery, John Parkes, Rhys Mandry, Mark Deakin, and Mandy Bell.
In previous years, when the council has been left under no overall control, parties have sometimes made agreements to form administrations, such as arrangements between Labour, Green Party, and Liberal Democrat members in 2023. No such arrangement was announced at Wednesday's meeting, however.
Councillor Tony Johnson, who stood down from the leadership last year, now becomes leader of the opposition. He said on Wednesday: "No overall control gets a bad name – people sometimes think nothing can get done. I think if we work together for the benefit of the people of this district, if people play with a straight bat, we can get the work done that we need to do."
Green Party group leader Andrea Muckley was elected to serve as chair of the council for the 2026/27 civic year. Her Green colleague Darrell Mawle was elected as vice chair, with nominations also being received for Labour's Jeff Hill and Reform UK member Alex Hunt. Councillor Muckley said: "I look forward to representing the people of the district. I will endeavour to be fair and just – that's what the position requires. There has been some bad feeling, with awful things said online to people. I think we can push past that in this chamber, we can be professional and civil to one another. We don't need to be best friends. But we need to do what's best for the people of this district."
In the north of the county, Newcastle Borough Council is now being run by a Reform UK administration following this month's elections. Its new leader is former MP Jonathan Gullis. Staffordshire County Council's Reform UK leader Martin Murray welcomed the election results, which come a year after the party took control of that authority. Speaking at Wednesday's cabinet meeting he said: "I want to congratulate all the new councillors across Staffordshire. We had a fantastic result politically for Reform, winning nine out of nine in Tamworth, 13 out of 13 in Cannock and taking control of Newcastle Borough Council. I really look forward to working alongside all of our new colleagues across the districts and boroughs for the best interests of Staffordshire, whatever political rosette they may be wearing."
