Reform UK Councillor Resigns Again After Retracting Resignation

A Reform UK councillor for Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has formally resigned, just two days after publicly retracting an earlier resignation and insisting she was committed to her role. Christine Duffy, who represented the Town ward, submitted her second and final resignation letter on Thursday, August 20, 2026. The letter was received by the council's chief executive, Gordon Mole, on Friday, August 21.

In a statement posted on the Reform UK Newcastle-under-Lyme Facebook page, Duffy cited the impact of recent events on her health and wellbeing. She stated, "It is with deep regret that I have formally resigned, with immediate effect, as the Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Councillor for Town ward." She added that she had been "deeply upset by the way my privacy has been treated," referring to the public sharing of her initial resignation letter and private messages.

The sequence of events began on August 4, when Duffy originally submitted a resignation letter. However, she delivered it to the clerk of Kidsgrove Town Council, where she was not an elected member, instead of the correct borough council. The letter, which complained about a lack of training for her role, was...