A Reform UK councillor in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Christine Duffy, has withdrawn her resignation after mistakenly delivering her resignation letter to the wrong council. Duffy, who cited having received "very little or no training for this role" as her reason for quitting on 4 August, handed the letter to Kidsgrove Town Council rather than Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, and later changed her mind. The episode is notable because electoral rules normally prevent a councillor from withdrawing a resignation once it has been formally received, but Duffy says she rescinded it before the correct authority got hold of it.

Newcastle-under-Lyme's chief executive, Gordon Mole, confirmed to the BBC that by the time he received the letter as the "proper officer", he had already been told its contents had been withdrawn, so Duffy remains a serving councillor. She reacted angrily after local group Kidsgrove Independents published the letter, accusing them of exploiting a private document for "party political purposes" and insisting her position "could not be clearer". The story follows a similar incident involving Kirklees Reform UK councillor Sarah Wood, who admitted in May that she did not understand the council's constitution.