Council leader urges meeting with new PM

The leader of a North Staffordshire council facing abolition under local government reorganisation is calling for an 'urgent' meeting with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Jonathan Gullis, Reform UK leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, has written to Mr Burnham to request the meeting to discuss the authority's continuing objections to LGR.

All councils in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, including the borough council, are set to be absolished and replaced with two new unitary authorities by 2028.

A North Staffordshire unitary will cover Newcastle, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Moorlands, with another covering the south of the county.