Many happy returns for Tories in 2010
There is a jokey mock blue plaque sign some folk have on their houses, saying something along the lines of: "On this spot in 1765, nothing happened."
The 2010 general election was a bit like that in Shropshire. Politically, nothing much happened, when compared to the previous 13 years which had seen some sensational results which had shaken assumptions of which were safe seats and which were not.
But in 2010 everybody held on in Shropshire. No seats changed hands. And there were no sensations.
This was the first time this had happened since 1992.
Shropshire voters had a choice as never before, with a record number of candidates, seven each in Shrewsbury and Ludlow, six in North Shropshire, and five each in The Wrekin and Telford.
For the first time, the British National Party contested a general election in Shropshire, fielding candidates in all five seats.
Among those adding variety to the ballot papers was James Gollins of the “Impact Party” in the Shrewsbury seat, although he didn't make a big impact, getting 88 votes. Alan Powell, of the “Monster Raving Loony William Hill Party” ran at Ludlow. A late entry into the electoral race, he was pulled up by the voters with 179 ballot box crosses.
There was only one really close battle, in Telford, where the Tories threw in resources to try to oust Labour's David Wright.
The Conservative candidate was Tom Biggins, a Shropshire county councillor, who had worked in the family cheese firm that created, appropriately enough, “Shropshire Blue.” He came quite close to taking the seat, slashing the Labour majority to 978.
Did a relatively strong showing by the UKIP candidate make the difference? UKIP's Denis Allen gained 2,428 votes, a significant rise on the 1,659 which went to UKIP in the 2005 general election. There was a fascinating personal dynamic too - Mr Allen was a former chairman of Wrekin Conservative Association.
While the Tories missed out in Telford, there was cheer for them everywhere else in Shropshire. In The Wrekin, Mark Pritchard's majority was 9,450 - a record for the seat up to that time. It transformed the seat in the space of just five years from a marginal - Mr Pritchard's majority in 2005 was only 942 - to one that looked safe for the Tories.
Owen Paterson got in again in North Shropshire, Daniel Kawczynski was back in Shrewsbury, and Philip Dunne was returned in Ludlow.
Conservatives 4, Labour 1.
For a sensation, we look over the border in Montgomeryshire, where there was a crushing blow for the Lib Dems’ Lembit Opik. In what was considered a safe seat for his party, he was ousted by Glyn Davies of the Tories.
Opik, who seems to have been punished by Mid Wales voters tired of what they seem to have perceived as an increasingly showbiz persona, admitted that he hadn’t seen it coming. His answer was to take up stand-up comedy and fly Down Under for ITV’s I’m a Celebrity.
