The 2026 Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council election is set to be held on Thursday 7 May 2026 to elect all 44 councillors who serve on Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. It will be held alongside council elections across England.
Simon Tagg has served as Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council since December 2017. In the 2025 Staffordshire County Council election, Newcastle-under-Lyme experienced a significant political shift towards Reform, which secured eight of the nine available seats in the area and 44.7% of the total vote. Labour failed to win any seats, while the Conservatives retained only one.
Reform gained its first seat on the council earlier in May 2025 through a by-election victory in Knutton. Lynn Dean, the elected councillor for Knutton, was suspended from Reform UK in March 2026 following allegations of racist comments made on social media. Dean subsequently stepped down from her local council role but continues to serve as a County Councillor.
Following his defection from the Conservative Party in December 2025, Jonathan Gullis, the former MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, announced his candidacy for the Kidsgrove and Ravenscliffe ward representing Reform UK.
A major topic of local concern is the proposed reorganisation of local government, with widespread opposition to the government's plans to potentially merge Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent, and Newcastle-under-Lyme councils, or alternatively divide Staffordshire along eastâÂÂwest lines. A large number of residents have signed a petition protesting these proposals.
Other key local issues include the development of solar farms, and the housing of asylum seekers in local hotels, among other community concerns.
Changes 2022âÂÂ2026: