Staffordshire: Reform County Councillors elect leader

Reform UK councillor Ian Cooper is set to become the new leader of Staffordshire County Council. The retired businessman and councillor for Perrycrofts in Tamworth has been elected leader of the Reform group, which took control of the county council in this month’s local elections.

County councillors will officially choose a new leader for the authority at the full council meeting on May 22, with Cllr Cooper’s appointment now a formality. Reform won a landslide victory in Staffordshire on May 1, taking 49 of the 62 seats across the county, as Nigel Farage’s party dominated the local elections across England.

Reform councillors elected Cllr Cooper as their leader at a group meeting, with Cannock Town councillor Martin Murray being elected deputy leader.

Cllr Cooper said: “It’s an honour and a privilege to have been elected leader of the Reform UK group on Staffordshire County Council.

“What we have achieved here is incredible. From a standing start we now have full control of Staffordshire County Council. The people of Staffordshire have given us a clear mandate for serious change and we fully intend to deliver that.”

Cllr Cooper, originally from Nottinghamshire, has lived in Staffordshire since 1997. In a 35-year career, he worked in various roles within the print media industry, as well as serving as a sales director at an accountancy firm and as an SME business consultant.

The married father-of-two retired in 2024, but continues to be a member of Advantage Network Tamworth, a local business group.

Cllr Cooper previously contested the Tamworth parliamentary seat for Reform in the 2024 general election. He came third behind winner Sarah Edwards, of Labour, and Tory Eddie Hughes. In the county council elections, Cllr Cooper won the Perrycrofts seat with 35 per cent of the vote – Reform candidates won all five seats in Tamworth.

Cllr Murray, who won the Cannock Town seat with 51 per cent of the vote, has also been Reform’s county co-ordinator for Staffordshire.

The county council had previously been controlled by the Conservatives since 2009. Cllr Cooper will succeed former Tory councillor Alan White as leader of the authority.

Members of the cabinet, along with the members and chairs of the other committees, will be announced at the May 22 council meeting.

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