Landlord of 'best pub in the UK' is named chairman of Shropshire Council

Liberal Democrat Duncan Borrowman, who won the Llanymynech seat at the local elections earlier this month, was voted in at a full council meeting on Thursday morning (May 22). The councillor he replaces as chairman, Vince Hunt, held the seat prior to Councillor Borrowman’s victory.

Councillor Borrowman is known for being the landlord of the Bailey Head in Oswestry, which was named CAMRA’s UK pub of the year in January.

He said he was honoured to be elected chairman, but admitted that the news came as a shock.

“I moved to Shropshire just under 10 years ago and had given up this local government lark, and now all of a sudden I find myself chairing Shropshire Council,” said Councillor Borrowman.

“As chairman of the council, I’ve got to be fairly neutral and ensure all voices are heard.

“I’m very keen that the council operates as a centre for a debating forum about the policies and not like some sort of reality TV show where people are trying to score points off each other.”

The Liberal Democrats have 42 councillors following their storming victory at the elections. The Conservative group, which had been in control ever since Shropshire Council became a unitary authority in 2009, now only has seven councillors, with the main opposition group being Reform UK.

“There is a very clear agenda for change,” said Councillor Borrowman.

“The electorate made that clear and I look forward to everyone taking that forward.

“There will be very diverse views in the chamber, but we need to make sure that people listen to each other. There is a big majority group and by the nature of it will get its own way, but opposing views have also got to be listened to and taken on board.”