Shropshire Star

Here’s why just one small part of Telford is going to the polls during Thursday’s local elections

Electors in just one small part of Telford will be able to take part in the local elections this Thursday.

By Local Democracy Reporter David Tooley
Published

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That’s because a by-election is being held to fill a seat vacated by Councillor Jasmine Bennett, who resigned from the Ketley Ward of Ketley Parish Council on February 18.

Voters will be going to the polls across the rest of Shropshire where the unitary authority and town and parish councils are seeking to fill seats for the next four years.

But similar elections across the whole of Telford & Wrekin won’t be happening until 2027.

Ketley Community Centre. Picture: Google Maps
Ketley Community Centre. Picture: Google Maps

In Ketley there are three candidates vying for votes, an Independent, a Conservative and one for Labour.

The candidates are Independent Helen Barker, whose address is given as in Telford & Wrekin, Conservative Paul Savage, of Manse Road, in Hadley, Telford, and the Labour candidate Dylan Shinton, whose address is recorded as being in Telford & Wrekin.

Ballot papers are removed from a ballot box at Fareham Leisure Centre in Fareham, Hampshire, during the count for the Fareham and Waterlooville constituency in the 2024 General Election. Picture date: Thursday July 4, 2024. Picture: PA News
Ballot papers are removed from a ballot box at Fareham Leisure Centre in Fareham, Hampshire, during the count for the Fareham and Waterlooville constituency in the 2024 General Election. Picture date: Thursday July 4, 2024. Picture: PA News
A map of the Ketley parish council ward. Picture: Telford & Wrekin Council
A map of the Ketley parish council ward. Picture: Telford & Wrekin Council

Polls will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

There is one polling station at Ketley Community Centre, in Holyhead Road, Ketley.

At the elections in 2023 there were eight seats up for grabs in Ketley ward, with six being won by Labour, one by an independent and one by a Conservative.