Warwickshire County Council's local government reorganisation lead says the priority is to "make sure the north is ready and able to go" now a north-south split has been confirmed.

The county's portfolio holder for resources and internal affairs Cllr Mike Bannister admitted that his Reform UK group hoped the government would "abandon the whole thing altogether" but it has stood by the decision to create two new unitary councils to replace Warwickshire's six county, district and borough authorities following a review.

A government-led process to abolish the two-tier system – county and district/borough councils – and replace them with unitary councils that cover all major services for their areas was already underway when Reform UK took control at Shire Hall in May 2025.

The new administration stuck with the Conservative position that one new county-wide council for all of Warwickshire would be best, citing minimum population criteria set out by the government and the current county council's fears for the financial viability of a northern unitary.

The counter argument was that a north-south split – a north council covering the boroughs of Rugby, Nuneaton & Bedworth and North Warwickshire and a south council covering the districts of Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon – would better protect local identities and representation. Commissioned reports also offered up a more hopeful financial picture.

Legal challenges in other areas saw the government pause any reshuffle plans that were not set in stone, including Warwickshire's, but the intention to press ahead with a two-unitary model was announced last week, albeit with a one-year delay.

It was the position that Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council had backed prior to Reform taking charge there in May 2026 and their councillors who serve on both cabinets have received stick for their county-led stance.

And while Cllr Bannister remains of the belief that one unitary would have been best, he makes no secret of Reform's focus being pointed northwards.

"Reform didn't want larger local government, we were put in a position that we had to respond to by the government," said Cllr Bannister

"The decision we took for Warwickshire was the right one because we worked on the government's criteria, the size (500,000-plus populations for new unitaries) required and all of the caveats.

"We had a particular concern about the financial viability of the north from day one due to (county-run services) adult social care, children and young people, home-to-school transport.

"We took a pragmatic decision to go for one unitary, even though politically it may not have been the best decision with us having a much larger representation in the north of the county. We did that because it was the right thing to do.

"Pragmatically, we immediately said that Rugby, Nuneaton & Bedworth and North Warwickshire were our priority and we were gearing up to how we would deal with that. The workstreams were in progress when it was halted.

"My hope was that they would abandon the whole thing altogether. Now they have made the decision to continue, albeit with a one-year delay, we are again going to have to deal with things pragmatically.

"Once again we will be utilising resources to make sure the north is ready and able to go. Equally, we are going to have to seriously consider the financial position that we start with on the projections that we have.

"We don't believe that the Deloitte report done by (four district and borough) councils was the business, we felt the figures from Warwickshire were the more honest representation of the position.

"We will have to be looking to the government again to see that we have financial stability in the north."