Stafford Borough Council's abolition is on hold. The May 2027 borough election now goes ahead on existing wards, three days after joint committees were set up.

The Stafford Borough Council merger that would have abolished the borough in 2028 is on hold. The government announced a review of local government reorganisation on Monday 7 September and told council leaders to stop implementing the decisions made in July.

Stafford Borough Council updated its own reorganisation page the same day. It now opens with a line that was not there a week ago: “The Government will be carrying out a review of Local Government Reorganisation for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. This has put the reorganisation on hold.”

The immediate consequence for residents is an election. The May 2027 poll was going to be replaced by an election to a shadow council. It will now be an ordinary borough election on today’s ward boundaries.

Three days between setting it up and stopping it

Stafford Borough Council announced on 4 September that two voluntary joint committees had been established to prepare for the new councils. We reported the arrangement on 5 September. The South and Mid Staffordshire committee was to have 12 members: six from the county council, and six shared between six district and borough councils. First meetings were expected in late October.

Three days later, the minister asked leaders to stop.

The letter from Jim McMahon, Minister for Local Government, Devolution and Regional Growth, is dated 7 September and published on gov.uk. It says the government has withdrawn the March decisions for four other areas, and continues:

The review, which I will lead, will look at the programme as a whole and this will include reviewing the 14 decisions made in July.

Staffordshire’s decision was one of those 14. It was signed on 16 July 2026 and set up two unitary councils, one of them South and Mid Staffordshire, with 92 councillors, covering Stafford, Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, South Staffordshire and Tamworth.

The letter then asks leaders to “cease work on implementing the decisions that were announced in July”, saying the pause “reduces the risk of nugatory work if, after further review, we decide to change course”.

What was due to happen, and where it has stopped

Status of each stage of local government reorganisation in Staffordshire after the 7 September 2026 pause Seven stages. 16 July 2026, two unitary councils confirmed for Staffordshire: decided. 4 September 2026, voluntary joint committees established: done, then stopped. 7 September 2026, government announces review and tells leaders to cease work: the pause. Late October 2026, first joint committee meetings expected: on hold. Late 2026, Structural Change Order to Parliament: on hold. May 2027, shadow elections to the new councils: replaced by ordinary elections on existing boundaries. April 2028, new councils established: on hold. The Staffordshire timetable, and what survives the pause Stages as published by the councils’ reorganisation hub and the July decision letter. Status as at 9 September 2026. 16 July 2026 Two unitary councils confirmed for Staffordshire Decided 4 September 2026 Voluntary joint committees established Done, then stopped 7 September 2026 Ministers order work on the July decisions to cease The pause Late October 2026 First joint committee meetings expected On hold Late 2026 Structural Change Order laid before Parliament On hold May 2027 Shadow elections to the new councils Now an ordinary borough election April 2028 New councils established On hold Sources: MHCLG letter to council leaders, 7 September 2026; staffordshirestokelgr.org.uk timetable. Graphic by The Stafford Times.

The election that comes back

The clearest thing to change is the May 2027 poll. The minister’s letter puts it plainly:

While the current timetable for reorganisation envisages local elections scheduled for May 2027 being replaced by elections to the new councils, this review means elections scheduled to take place in May 2027 will go ahead to existing council boundaries.

Stafford Borough Council’s own results archive shows all-out borough elections in 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 4 May 2023. That four-year cycle puts the next one in May 2027. Under the July decision it would have been an election to a shadow South and Mid Staffordshire council instead, covering six districts at once.

So unless the review changes course again, Stafford votes in 2027 for the borough council it has now, in the wards it has now.

What the county council says

Staffordshire County Council put out a statement the same day. Its leader, Councillor Martin Murray, said the decision came “with little warning and even less detail”, and that councils had “worked flat out to meet Government’s timetable”.

He added that pausing the plans “wastes time, drains capacity and undermines confidence”, and called on ministers to “stop wasting our time and energy, give councils straight answers and put devolution first”.

The county council remains in favour of the wider change. Cllr Murray’s statement ends: “Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent need a strategic authority, a stronger voice and the power to make decisions locally. We will keep pressing for that.”

Stafford Borough Council has published no news release about the pause. It changed its reorganisation page and posted the government’s announcement there as a document, but the nine most recent items on its news page do not mention it.

The official hub has not caught up

The ten councils run a joint website for reorganisation, staffordshirestokelgr.org.uk. Checked on 9 September, two days after the announcement, it still sets out the full timetable as though nothing had happened:

  • July 2026, government announcement
  • late summer or early autumn 2026, possible joint committees
  • late 2026, Structural Change Order to Parliament
  • May 2027, shadow council elections
  • April 2028, new councils established

There is no mention of the review anywhere on that page. If you are checking what is happening to your council, the borough council’s own reorganisation page is currently the accurate one locally, and the gov.uk letter is the record.

One area is carrying on regardless. The council’s own copy of the government announcement says reorganisation in Surrey “will not be affected by the review”, and that East and West Surrey go live in April 2027. The minister’s letter explains why: those councils are “already established in law”.

What it means for you

Nothing about your bins, your council tax bill or a planning application changes this week. Both councils keep doing exactly what they do now.

What does change:

  • The May 2027 election is a borough election again. Same wards, same council.
  • The date Stafford Borough Council disappears is no longer fixed. April 2028 was the plan. It is now under review, with no published date for when the review reports.
  • Work on the merger stops. Officers at both councils have been told to cease implementation, which includes the joint committee that was announced five days ago.
  • Nobody has said what happens to the joint committees. The first meetings were expected in late October. Neither council has said whether they will now take place.

For what the two councils each do today, and who to contact about what, see our pages on council tax bands and planning applications.

Sources