Lib Dems take control of Shropshire Council but Reform makes gains

The Conservatives in Shropshire are wiped out. After 16 years of mismanagement and misguided polices, they are left with just seven councillors, down from 54 in 2009 and 36 less than that they had in 2021. The Liberal Democrats now control the council with 42 seats. That is the result of huge effort across the county to displace the unpopular Tories. The Lib Dems caught the mood in the county. Reform made gains on the back of its national surge but that is not a foundation for long term management of local government. The Conservatives were not popular nationally. In Shropshire, they were thrown out because of their abject failure to help the county thrive, especially its rural areas.

Reform UK has gone from zero to sixteen seats, enough to get some committee seats but not enough to challenge the Liberal Democrats. Reform also has no experience in local government. Its councillors will have a steep learning curve as none of them have been elected before. The party also lacks local policies. It will need to prove it stands for more than just stopping the boats and the Nigel Farage fan club.

Labour performed badly shrinking from nine seats in 2021 to just four.

Shropshire First. A new political group, which included disaffected Conservatives, promised  to be “focused solely on the needs of the county, free from national party agendas”. It fielded nine candidates. None were elected. I doubt we will hear about Shropshire First again.

Why did the Conservatives fail?

To be fair, no government Tory or Labour has given a fair settlement to Shropshire, especially as social care costs have zoomed. But the Conservatives couldn’t present a decent case to government to get better funding, whether that be on the main grant, social care or on buses. Officers were successful in getting many specific grants but the strategic leadership needed was always conspicuous by its absence. There was always a feeling that the council leadership were more concerned about grants for pet projects than sorting out the underlying problems with the council’s finances.

The Conservatives also brought in disastrous policies. At one point all council staff were sacked and forced to come back on a lower wage. That pay cut had to be reversed. There was a generous no questions asked redundancy scheme. The best staff left. A decision was made to put most staff into a council owned company, ip&e but it hampered the company by insisting it paid above market rents for accomodation and poor management. The company failed and yet again everything had to be reversed. Two chief executives went overnight. The Conservatives drove through the purchase of three Shrewsbury shopping centres. One is now demolished and one is closed. There is no sign of the 8% return on investment promised. The costs of the four mile North West Relief Road rocketed from £78 million to £215 million, with most of the money to be paid by council taxpayers. Plans were going ahead for a £60 million civic centre. Odd for a council that already owns a Shirehall and Guildhall. The Conservatives brought the University of Chester to Shrewsbury only to kick it out because it was not prepared to invest in higher education. There was so much more of this.

The Conservatives were a victim of their own circumstances. Their demise has been on the cards for years. It needed a strong group to send them packing. The Liberal Democrats have built up that strength over several years. Our county voted for change. It voted for a party that has a long track record of working hard on issues that matter most to our communities. It will be a huge challenge to get Shropshire Council back on track but all 42 of us Lib Dem councillors are ready for it.

Senior Tories that left and those that were voted out

Stood down

Seven senior Conservatives decided not to stand:

• Cecelia Motley: Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Public Health.
• Dean Carroll, Portfolio Holder: Housing and Assets.
• Kirsty Hurst-Knight: Portfolio Holder for Children and Education.
• Lezley Picton: Council leader.
• Clare Wilde: Chair of the Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
• Brian Williams chair of Audit Committee and Vice-Chair of Council.

Voted out

Thirteen senior Conservatives lost their seats at the ballot box.

• Roy Alcroft: Deputy Portfolio Holder, Climate change, Environment and Transport; Deputy Portfolio Holder, Culture and Digital; Chair Strategic Licencing Committee.
• Joyce Barrow: Chair, Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
• Gwilym Butler: Portfolio Holder, Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities.
• David Evans: Chair of Southern Planning Committee; Chair Standards Committee.
• Vince Hunt: Chairman of the Council; Chair, Housing Supervisory Board.
• Mark Jones: Portfolio Holder, Growth and Regeneration.
• Simon Jones: Deputy Portfolio Holder, Adult Social Care and Public Health.
• Robert Macey: Portfolio Holder, Culture and Digital.
• Dan Morris: Portfolio Holder, Highways.
• Peggy Mullock: Chair, People Overview Committee.
• Ian Nellins: Deputy Leader; Portfolio Holder for Climate Change, Environment and Transport.
• Chris Schofield: Portfolio Holder, Planning and Regulatory Services.
• Paul Wynn: Chair, Northern Planning Committee.

The vote tallies

Overall votes per party:

• Liberal Democrats: 34,578 votes (34.19%)
• Reform UK: 27,732 votes (27.42%)
• Conservative: 20,118 votes (19.89%)
• Green: 6,559 votes (6.49%)
• Labour: 8,975 votes (8.87%)
• Independent: 1,653 votes (1.63%)
• [No political affiliation given]: 1,517 votes (1.5%)

Total of all votes: 101,132.

Total turnout is not yet available.