Shrewsbury MP confronted over authority merger talks
A senior Conservative councillor has personally told Shrewsbury’s MP to stop talking about a merger between Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin councils, and calls the idea “nonsense”.
Eric Carter, a former member of Telford and Wrekin’s cabinet, said Daniel Kawczynski was the only politician in the area advocating amalgamation.
Councillor Carter said he has pleaded with the Shrewsbury and Atcham MP in meetings to change the subject and told him “it’s not going to happen”.
Councillor Shaun Davies, who leads Telford and Wrekin’s ruling Labour group, said his party’s victory in the May 2 local election should settle the matter, but said, despite Councillor Carter’s reassurance, there were other Conservatives still “open to the idea”.
They were speaking at a meeting of the borough’s cabinet. Councillor Davies, whose group grew from 28 to 36 councillors in the May 2 election, told a cabinet meeting his party’s victory showed voters rejected all suggestion of amalgamation.
“Once and for all, our mandate from 2019, 2015 and 2011, which has had this as a central plank of our manifesto, should be respected,” he said.
Councillor Carter, attending cabinet as an opposition observer, said: “The only person I’ve ever come across who has suggested that merger is Daniel Kawczynski.”
