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Following careful consideration, I have concluded that it is in the best interests of Staffordshire, our residents and this County Council for me to step down as Leader of Staffordshire County Council and Leader of the Reform UK Group.
This was a difficult decision, but the interests of Staffordshire, the Council and those we serve must come first.
I do so with a clear conscience and immense pride in what we achieved together. During my time as Leader, we delivered a balanced budget, protected frontline services, secured significant investment in highways, children's services and community facilities, and provided stability through one of the most challenging periods in the County Council's recent history.
I am particularly proud of the work undertaken to strengthen Staffordshire's identity, confidence and economic ambition. Through supporting investment, promoting county pride, strengthening skills and employment opportunities, and backing our tourism and leisure sectors, I sought to help unlock Staffordshire's potential and create opportunities for future generations. Whether supporting major investment, protecting Staffordshire County Farms or advocating for local businesses on the national stage, my focus was always on ensuring Staffordshire remained a county where businesses could invest, communities could thrive and residents could succeed.
Staffordshire is home to some of our country's most successful global businesses and institutions, including JCB, Indurent, JLR, Finning, Keele University and Keele University Science and Innovation Park, alongside thousands of small businesses, from farm shops to engineering firms, from global manufacturers to hospitality venues and family-run enterprises. They are a reminder that Staffordshire remains one of the great manufacturing heartlands of Great Britain and a county with enormous potential for the future.
I am equally proud of the work I started to raise the profile of Staffordshire's tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors. With the likes of Alton Towers, Drayton Manor, Trentham Estate and Cannock Chase, together with the thousands of hotels, spas, glamping sites, restaurants, event venues and award-winning pubs that welcome visitors every year, Staffordshire has an offer few counties can rival. I have long believed that our county should be recognised not only as a centre of industry and innovation, but also as a destination where people come to relax, explore and create lasting memories. That is why we branded Staffordshire as The Nation's Playground.
I have always believed Staffordshire deserved a stronger voice and greater recognition, and that's why I called Staffordshire: The Beating Heart of the Country.
It has been a privilege to serve the people of Staffordshire and to work alongside dedicated councillors, officers, businesses, community organisations and residents. While my time as Leader has come to an end, my commitment to Staffordshire and the people of Cannock remains unchanged.
I do wish the Council and its new leadership every success in the years ahead.
Martin Murray
Staffordshire County Councillor for Cannock Town
Anne Webb retweeted
Following careful consideration, I have concluded that it is in the best interests of Staffordshire, our residents and this County Council for me to step down as Leader of Staffordshire County Council and Leader of the Reform UK Group.
This was a difficult decision, but the interests of Staffordshire, the Council and those we serve must come first.
I do so with a clear conscience and immense pride in what we achieved together. During my time as Leader, we delivered a balanced budget, protected frontline services, secured significant investment in highways, children's services and community facilities, and provided stability through one of the most challenging periods in the County Council's recent history.
I am particularly proud of the work undertaken to strengthen Staffordshire's identity, confidence and economic ambition. Through supporting investment, promoting county pride, strengthening skills and employment opportunities, and backing our tourism and leisure sectors, I sought to help unlock Staffordshire's potential and create opportunities for future generations. Whether supporting major investment, protecting Staffordshire County Farms or advocating for local businesses on the national stage, my focus was always on ensuring Staffordshire remained a county where businesses could invest, communities could thrive and residents could succeed.
Staffordshire is home to some of our country's most successful global businesses and institutions, including JCB, Indurent, JLR, Finning, Keele University and Keele University Science and Innovation Park, alongside thousands of small businesses, from farm shops to engineering firms, from global manufacturers to hospitality venues and family-run enterprises. They are a reminder that Staffordshire remains one of the great manufacturing heartlands of Great Britain and a county with enormous potential for the future.
I am equally proud of the work I started to raise the profile of Staffordshire's tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors. With the likes of Alton Towers, Drayton Manor, Trentham Estate and Cannock Chase, together with the thousands of hotels, spas, glamping sites, restaurants, event venues and award-winning pubs that welcome visitors every year, Staffordshire has an offer few counties can rival. I have long believed that our county should be recognised not only as a centre of industry and innovation, but also as a destination where people come to relax, explore and create lasting memories. That is why we branded Staffordshire as The Nation's Playground.
I have always believed Staffordshire deserved a stronger voice and greater recognition, and that's why I called Staffordshire: The Beating Heart of the Country.
It has been a privilege to serve the people of Staffordshire and to work alongside dedicated councillors, officers, businesses, community organisations and residents. While my time as Leader has come to an end, my commitment to Staffordshire and the people of Cannock remains unchanged.
I do wish the Council and its new leadership every success in the years ahead.
Martin Murray
Staffordshire County Councillor for Cannock Town – at Cannock, England
The scaremongering is off the bloody scale. Are we expecting an invasion from outer space? Nuclear war? Being hit by an enormous asteroid? Bring it on. 🙄
Anne Webb retweeted
Wow, massive numbers for UK & Spain!
🌍 European countries that added the most migrants (2000–2024)
1. 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: +7.1M
2. 🇪🇸 Spain: +6.8M
3. 🇩🇪 Germany: +6.4M
4. 🇹🇷 Türkiye: +5.8M
5. 🇮🇹 Italy: +4.4M
6. 🇫🇷 France: +3.0M
7. 🇦🇹 Austria: +1.4M
8. 🇳🇱 Netherlands: +1.4M
9. 🇨🇭 Switzerland: +1.3M
10. 🇧🇪 Belgium: +1.3M
11. 🇸🇪 Sweden: +1.3M
12. 🇵🇱 Poland: +917K
13. 🇮🇪 Ireland: +840K
14. 🇳🇴 Norway: +720K
15. 🇷🇴 Romania: +521K
16. 🇵🇹 Portugal: +476K
17. 🇩🇰 Denmark: +475K
18. 🇭🇺 Hungary: +393K
19. 🇨🇿 Czechia: +386K
20. 🇫🇮 Finland: +378K
Europe's migrant population grew by 40.8 million between 2000 and 2024, up 67%. The UK, Spain and Germany together account for almost half of that increase.
Source: UN DESA
Anne Webb retweeted
‼️ It’s now come out that it’s not just the BBC, but ITV and Channel 4 have also had taxpayer funded civil servants working inside their newsrooms during general elections.
Three major broadcasters.. all with government employees behind the scenes helping put together election coverage.
😲 How are we supposed to trust that any of this is impartial?
It looks like newsrooms infested with civil servants helping push state crafted narratives, all at the taxpayers expense.
And we’re supposed to call this independent journalism? Or democratic?! 🤦🏻♀️
We need an independent investigation into these broadcasters AND the governments that allowed this to happen.
What influence did these arrangements have on the news people were watching, public opinion and ultimately how people voted?
The public deserves to know.
Anne Webb retweeted
Petition: Do not extend the BBC licence fee to streaming services
There are widespread reports that the Government is considering extending the BBC licence fee to include subscribers of streaming services that are not owned or run by the BBC.
petition.parliament.uk/petit…
Anne Webb retweeted
Says the organisation that happily employed Rolf Harris, Jimmy Saville, Huw Edwards etc.
Reform faces questions over candidate vetting after undercover filming bbc.in/4B6nCJb
Anne Webb retweeted
National Security Adviser's Wife Backs Palestine Action order-order.com/2026/10/16/n…
Anne Webb retweeted
Our politicians are increasingly little more than a bunch of pontificating pixies. They should be running the country without fuss or show instead of wasting time with this performative nonsense.
In the clearest F you yet from this bloody evil government to the electorate, @UKLabour MPs have voted to put the safety of women and girls in jeopardy. Telling us clearly what they think of us. Sick to death of the lot of the wicked, appeasing, enabling idiots.
Labour have voted to allow asylum accommodation in Piddington, putting the safety of local women and girls at risk.
The Lib Dems didn’t even show up to vote.
The @Conservatives voted to oppose it, leave the ECHR and deport illegal migrants.
We are on the side of women and girls.
Anne Webb retweeted
Prime Minister @andyburnham stood up in the House of Commons today, and branded a man who has been charged with the murder of Ann Widdecombe, so is therefore innocent until proven guilty, as being ‘responsible’ for that crime. Burnham has now put a murder trial at risk. Appalling
Anne Webb retweeted
The busiest job in Westminster is running after the PM with a dustpan and brush, sweeping up whatever he said five minutes earlier.
Implying the 2016 referendum was illegitimate, until the entire govt comms machine scrambled to clarify what he said. Opening up a Scottish referendum, which his team had to shut down. Telling the WASPI women they deserved recompense, only to backtrack.
Burnham is all over the place, making statements he clearly hasn’t thought through.
Anne Webb retweeted
🤡 Ok lets talk about foreign attempts to influence the Brexit vote (apart from Obama telling us we'd be at the "back of the queue" for a trade deal).... It's quite the list don't you think?
▪️ George Soros – Billionaire financier. Predicted sterling could fall by 15–20% or more, making British households poorer.
▪️ Bill Gates – Warned Britain would become significantly less attractive for business, investment and scientific research.
▪️WEF – published warnings that Brexit could cause profound recession, financial instability and falling investment.
▪️ François Hollande – French President. Warned of consequences for British trade & financial services.
▪️Hillary Clinton – US. Publicly backed Remain supporting Obama's position.
▪️ Angela Merkel – German Chancellor. Publicly backed remain.
▪️ Jean-Claude Juncker – European Commission President. Warned Britain not to leave.
▪️Justin Trudeau – Canadian Prime Minister. Warned that Britain would not get easy or automatic trade agreements after Brexit.
▪️ Donald Tusk – European Council President. Warned Brexit could have serious political and economic consequences.
▪️ Enda Kenny – Irish Prime Minister. Warned Brexit could threaten stability in Northern Ireland.
▪️ Shinzo Abe – Japanese Prime Minister. Warned Brexit could threaten Japanese investment and more than 100,000 British jobs.
▪️ Michael Bloomberg – American billionaire, former New York mayor. Supported Remain and warned of economic and employment consequences.
▪️ Li Ka-shing – Hong Kong billionaire. Warned Brexit would damage Britain.
▪️ Wang Jianlin – Chinese billionaire. Warned Brexit could affect Chinese investment in Britain.
▪️ Jamie Dimon – JPMorgan Chase CEO. Warned that thousands of British financial-services jobs could be at risk.
▪️ International Monetary Fund (IMF) – Christine Lagarde warned the economic consequences could range from "pretty bad to very, very bad".
▪️ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – Predicted Brexit would leave British households thousands of pounds worse off annually.
▪️ G7 – Formally declared Brexit a serious risk to global economic growth.
▪️ G20 – Identified Britain's possible departure from the EU as a potential shock to the global economy.
▪️ European Commission – Warned Britain would lose existing privileges and face new trade barriers.
▪️ Bono and U2 – Irish musicians. Supported Britain remaining in the EU.
▪️ Liam Neeson – Irish actor. Encouraged eligible Irish voters in Britain to vote Remain.
▪️ Patti Smith – American singer. Supported a public appeal asking Britain to stay.
▪️ Jean-Michel Jarre – French musician. Supported an appeal opposing Brexit.
▪️ Lilian Thuram – French former footballer. Supported an appeal asking Britain to remain.
The scale of attempted foreign interference in Brexit was extreme...
And in the face of ALL of the opposition, in the face of all the threats to force us to comply... the majority voted Leave anyway 💣
Anne Webb retweeted
This is the real story 👇
BREAKING: ‘Sweetheart deals’ between the Manchester City group and the Labour Council contained tightly-drawn gagging clauses and NDAs to prevent their secret terms from being scrutinised (via @TheTimes) thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…
