Shropshire Council elections: Conservatives tighten their grip
The Conservatives have tightened their grip on Shropshire after the party increased its majority on Shropshire Council.
The Tories were the big winners in the Shropshire Council elections as they increased their number of councillors by three, meaning 49 of the authority’s 74 seats are now Conservative.
A total of 104,986 votes were cast across the county but opposition parties struggled to make a dent in the Conservative control of the administration.
The next move will see the leadership of the council decided when Shropshire Conservatives meet on May 15 to vote for their leader , who will become overall leader of the council.
Current leader Malcolm Pate has said he wishes to stand again to “finish the job he started”.
Councillor Pate, who was re-elected in the ward of Albrighton, today said he was delighted at the result, adding: “By and large we have increased our majority across the tables. I think it is to do with the national political situation. That has a big influence on even local elections.”
Councillor Pate said he had been pleased with the progress since he took over from Keith Barrow in December 2015, and now wanted to continue that work.
He said: “We have come a long way in the past 18 months, from somewhere where we did not know where we were going to a clear direction with a financial plan and we are working very hard for a sustainable direction and a sustainable budget.”
Councillor Pate said that since the authority had put its financial strategy in place it has received a number of expressions of interest from companies wanting to come to the county.
He added: “We have made good progress but there is still a lot of hard work to do and it is important we fulfil the strategies we have put in place.”
As yet no other members of the Conservative party have declared their interest in the leader’s role, with several expressing their support for the current regime.
Councillor Simon Jones, who has been a cabinet member for highways, said: “I am very pleased with the direction of the council so far.”
However, others said they were open to listening to what any challengers may have to offer.
Councillor William Parr, who was re-elected for Bridgnorth East and Astley Abbots said: “I would be very interested in what prospective candidates might have to say.”
Councillor Joyce Barrow, who was re-elected in St Oswald said: “If there are any challengers to any position then I will give them thoughtful consideration.”
Current deputy leader Steve Charley, who was returned as councillor for Whittington, said he would not be putting himself forward for re-election as deputy leader.
However, Councillor Lee Chapman, who was re-elected for church Stretton and Craven Arms has thrown his hat in the ring for the position.
He said: “I will be hoping to be proposed as deputy leader and it will be down to the the group of Conservative councillors who elect the deputy to decide.”
Clive Wright The council’s chief executive said that whoever is leader will face the same issue of putting the council on a sound financial footing for the future.
He said: “The overall issue is to get council finances in balance over the next three years and the key challenges in doing that are to address adult social care costs, but per head we are in the lowest cost bracket in the country so we are doing a good job.”
Opposition vow to fight on
Only four seats changed political hands in this year’s elections, but there is no doubt that the result was a ringing endorsement for the Conservative Party.
The group regained overall control of the council with 49 councillors, and in fact increased its number of elected representatives by three.
The election saw Labour reduced to eight seats after losing one, while the Liberal Democrats lost one and finished with 12.
The Green Party finish up with one councillor, while there are four independents.
Councillor Hannah Fraser, who retained her Abbey Ward for the Liberal Democrats, said she was pleased at the party’s showing.
She said: “We have held our own and we are very pleased our vote has held up.”
The group’s leader, Roger Evans, said he was disappointed that the Conservatives had increased their hold on the council but that his party was committed to holding them to account.
He said: “Overall I was pleased at the picture in Shropshire. We seem to have gone against the national trend and retained the majority of our seats.”
“At Shropshire level I am disappointed that the Conservatives have increased their majority but be assured we will be an effective opposition and will ensure the community voice is heard.”
Councillor Evans, who retained his Longden seat said he believed people had voted on national issues, rather than those affecting Shropshire.
He said: “I think the atmosphere on the doorstep has changed in the last 10 days. The national picture has come through locally and I am disappointed at that because we fought the election on local issues not national ones.”
His party colleague, Andy Boddington, who was re-elected for Ludlow North, said the party had bucked predictions of doom and gloom.
He said: “It was very close in a number of seats and it is disappointing but on the other hand everyone predicted that the Lib Dems would be wiped out.”
Labour Group leader, Councillor Alan Mosley, who was returned as representative of Castlefields & Ditherington in Shrewsbury, said the vote had held up but he was disappointed that the public had backed another four years of Conservative leadership on the council
He said: “I am disappointed. We think our vote share has gone up and that encourages us but we are likely to now see another four years of poor planning and bad management, cuts to services and facilities.
“There will be no change in the administration of Shropshire Council and that means they will continue to support austerity policies which are causing so much damage to services in Shropshire and hence its residents.”
Councillor Mosley said he believed that the announcement of the General Election had made “a big difference to the way people are voting”.
He said he also believed that the results had reflected the national trend.
He said: “Clearly some of the results represent what we are seeing nationally which is a degree of disappointment for Labour.”
