David Walker elected to Shropshire Council
I am very pleased to say that I have been elected to Shropshire Council with 47.78% of the vote—591 votes with a 221-vote majority. Marking 20 years since I last held a top-tier council seat at the county level. Reform came second with 29.91% of the vote, with the Conservatives finishing third with 12.85%.
Thank you
Thank you for all the support and kind words I have received during the election campaign. It is a tremendous privilege and honour to take on this role. I promise I won’t be a slacker or swing the lead as a county councillor and will represent you all to the very best of my abilities. Thank you to my opponents for your kind words at the count and commiserations on losing. Thank you to the Shropshire Council staff and the election staff for the way they facilitated a safe and fair election. Thank you also to the residents who backed my campaign publicly, my friends and my family for their support. Most importantly, thank you to Sandra, my lovely wife, without whom this victory would not be possible.
Why your support means a lot to me
After losing my Shropshire County Council seat by 18 votes in 2005, I have worked hard to regain it. In the meantime, I have watched the Conservatives set up a remote and unaccountable Shropshire Council and then run the authority into the ground with some wild spending decisions undermining the council’s review and capital budgets.
In 2005, I lost my Shropshire County Council seat by 18 votes.
In 2007, I lost my Bridgnorth District Council seat. On the plus side, I got married that September.
In 2008, the financial crisis hit, and I was unexpectedly widowed that August.
In 2009, the financial crisis hit hard, and I was laid off and made redundant. That September, I started a new job at a planning consultancy.
In 2016, I changed my focus from winning a Bridgnorth seat to winning a seat in Whittington.
In 2017, I stood for election for the Whittington Division. As a relative unknown, I came second, securing 25.98% of the vote.
In 2021, I almost won the seat, missing by 34 votes. Later that year, the local party with me as chair again, won North Shropshire constituency in the by-election, and the Lib Dem journey was underway. In September, I married Sandra.
Winning this time has taken 8 years of graft in a true-blue constituency—a constituency that has done the impossible and turned orange. In just 4 years, we have moved from a Conservative MP and no Lib Dem councillors in North Shropshire to Helen Morgan as our Lib Dem MP and a majority of Lib Dem councillors across Shropshire. Thank you.
Whittington Division results
| Name | Party | Votes | % | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BARRATT Elaine | Labour | 21 | 1.7% | |
| DAVIS Frank Reginald | Conservative | 159 | 12.85% | |
| DEAN Verity | Shropshire First | 54 | 4.37% | |
| GREAVES Simon Charles | Green | 33 | 2.67% | |
| HICKMAN Gregory John (commonly known as HICKMAN Greg) | Independent | 9 | 0.73% | |
| PEERS Elizabeth | Reform UK | 370 | 29.91% | |
| WALKER David | Liberal Democrats | 591 | 47.78% | ELECTED |
| Total votes: 1237 | ||||
Overall Shropshire 2025 Results
Politics Midlands report on the Liberal Democrats taking majority control of Shropshire Council away from the Conservatives. #letsfixshropshiretogether
Posted by Shropshire Liberal Democrats on Sunday 4 May 2025
BBC: Five takeaways from Shropshire Council elections
Overall votes per party:
- [No political affiliation given]: 1517 votes (1.5%) +0.03%
- Conservative: 20118 votes (19.89%) -24.88%
- Green: 6559 votes (6.49%) -3.03%
- Independent: 1653 votes (1.63%) -2.53%
- Labour: 8975 votes (8.87%) -8.47%
- Liberal Democrats: 34578 votes (34.19%) +12.33%
- Reform UK: 27732 votes (27.42%) +27.23%
Total of all votes: 101132 -13779 on the 2021 result
Parish Council elections
Once again, too few people stood for election in West Felton and Whittington, so both sets of nominated candidates were returned unopposed. Whittington still has one vacancy, while West Felton has a full complement. Thus, neither parish council had an election.
West Felton
Whttington
Oswestry Town Council
The Lib Dems now control Oswestry Town Council with 17 out of 18 seats. There are no Conservatives left on the Council. Surprisingly, I also have a seat on the Town Council in
Carreg Llwyd Ward.
Shrewsbury Town Council
A little further away and no less significantly, the Lib Dems have also taken control of Shrewsbury Town Council
