Telford & Wrekin Council leader calls on Theresa May to resign

Labour took more than two dozen seats in the General Election, as the UK was left with a hung Parliament.

The political party won 261 seats – a gain of 29 – but failed to win the seat in Telford, which was retained by Conservative Lucy Allan.

Despite this, Telford & Wrekin Council's Labour leader Councillor Shaun Davies said the level of support for Labour in Telford was at the highest it had been for the past four General Elections.

He also said he now hoped Telford & Wrekin Council could work "constructively and positively" with Mrs Allan and Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard in the future.

Councillor Davies said: "In Telford and Wrekin, the Labour party got really good levels of support.

"It wasn't enough for us to take their seat. Kuldip was a fantastic candidate.

"I think Jeremy Corbyn has done fantastically well.

"Theresa May acted in her party interest and it's completely backfired. She should resign.

"The A&E and women and children's unit is still a big issue in Telford.

"I hope Mark Pritchard and Lucy Allan will now work constructively and positively with the council."

The Conservatives won in Telford with 21,777 votes – only 720 more than Labour’s 21,057.

Telford's defeated Labour candidate Kuldip Sahota has also heaped praise on Mr Corbyn.

But he added: "I think our country seems to be in a bit of a mess.

"There's a hung parliament and we have a Prime Minister who should shortly be going to negotiate Brexit.

"She's been badly damaged.

"I don't now how she will recover from it and go to Brussels and try to be strong and stable.

"This is an important moment in our country's life.

"Calling the election has back-fired on her.

"Jeremy Corbyn has done really well. He came to Telford and galvanized my campaign. I'm really grateful to him.

"We had a good campaign. It's the way democracy works. The people have spoken.

"I think Jeremy Corbyn should stay on and fight the next General Election whenever that is."

Meanwhile, the leader of Shropshire Council said the General Election was “disappointing” for the Conservative Party.

Peter Nutting, Conservative and ward member for Copthorne, said he felt that Prime Minister Theresa May should stay in her position, despite national calls for her to stand down.

But he said the party should work together to see what will happen in the future.

He said: “It was a disappointing night for the Conservatives, obviously they expected to do better.

“I think Theresa May should stay in position and we will see where we go in the months to come.”