'Forensically investigate': Staffordshire County Council's Reform UK leader on how he's going to save taxpayers money

Ian Cooper will be officially appointed as the county council’s new leader on Thursday, following his party’s historic landslide victory in the local elections earlier this month.

Cllr Cooper says the incoming Reform administration will ‘forensically investigate’ the council’s finances and root out any ‘profligate’ spending. But he declined to give examples of current wasteful spending, saying this would only become apparent once Reform had access to the relevant information.

Cllr Cooper, who represents Perrycrofts in Tamworth, also gave his thoughts on local government reorganisation, and the early resignation of one of his councillors, in his first interview with the written press since his election as Reform group leader.

Reform took 49 out of 62 county council seats in the elections on May 1, leaving the party with a strong democratic mandate from voters. Cllr Cooper said cutting waste would be a key focus for his party.

He said: “Councils are responsible for hundreds of millions of pounds worth of taxpayers’ money. I believe that every penny we spend at the council should be spent in the most effective and most efficient way. Reform has said nationally, as a policy, that we need to go in and challenge this and investigate where the waste occurs. We’ve found many, many examples across the UK where councils have been profligate and spending on items which we believe as taxpayers that they shouldn’t be spending on.

“We’re not going to drop in on day one and immediately change things. But over the period of time there will be an incremental revolution that will occur by looking at how councils like Staffordshire are run. We intend to use the full tools available to us to investigate that problem.”

Cllr Cooper said the overspend on special education – an issue for many local authorities – was a particular concern, and accused Labour and Staffordshire politicians of ‘kicking the can down the road’. The county council’s deficit on its High Needs Block was expected to reach £55 million at the end of 2024/25.

Cllr Cooper said: “They’ve been kicking the whole financial issue down the road and ultimately taxpayers have to pick up the bill. We have a duty to forensically investigate and look at everything. Unless it’s looking after a vulnerable person, educating a child, filling in a pothole, making the environment cleaner and greener, why do we fund it? I definitely think the government need to play a more active role. But it is beholden on us also to try and find those efficiency savings which we think could be.”

Critics of Reform have pointed out that the party is already responsible for wasteful spending, due to one of their councillors resigning just two weeks after the elections, meaning a by-election will need to be held. Former Eccleshall & Gnosall councillor Wayne Titley stood down for ‘personal reasons’, with Reform saying that he and his family had been the subject of abuse.

Mr Titley had faced criticism online over social media posts attributed to him, such as one which called on the Royal Navy to shoot at small boats in the Channel. Cllr Cooper downplayed the resignation and the cost of the by-election, and accused Reform’s critics of hypocrisy.

He said: “We’ve just had 677 councillors elected across England. You’re always going to get one or two who drop out. These things are never ideal. However, I don’t take criticism from people like the Conservative Party – have they talked about all their MPs who stepped down and forced by-elections during the last parliament?”

Cllr Cooper declined to express an opinion on Mr Titley’s social media posts but said he had a right to free speech.

He said: “You’d have to ask him about that. But is it right that politicians of any political persuasion to be able to speak their mind? Of course, free speech is what we all want. But if you say something, you have to back it up. That’s the whole point of democracy.”

One of the most pressing issues currently facing the county council, and other authorities in Staffordshire, is local government reorganisation. The Labour government has called on councils to come up with proposals for new unitary authorities to replace the current two-tier system.

Before the election, the council’s previous Conservative administration, while opposing the idea of reorganisation, had stated its preference for a county-wide unitary that excluded Stoke-on-Trent. Cllr Cooper is similarly sceptical about reorganisation, but said Reform would consider the various options available.

He said: “This whole issue of reorganisation was never in the manifesto of the Labour Party at all. It was never discussed at the general election as it was never an issue put forward. There’s a plethora of different options on the table. What is clear is if we don’t pick one of these options – and none of them are good options – Angela Rayner will impose a solution on Staffordshire on November 28, which we don’t want.

“So we are where we are. Probably like the Conservatives we think that two-tier probably works, but we have to deal with the cards we are dealt. Ideally we’d like a whole Staffordshire, but we’re going to have to sit down and discuss with the various groups and see what the best, worst option is available, quite frankly.”

The first full council meeting since the election will take place at 10am on Thursday.