About David Walker

David Walker is a Land Surveyor / IT Manager living in West Felton, North Shropshire. He is a West Felton Parish Councillor and a Liberal Democrat campaigner for the Whittington Division of Shropshire Council.

I am a 50-year-old professional Land Surveyor by trade currently working for Green Planning Studio Ltd who are Planning Consultants based in Shropshire. Mapping sites for them to help them either obtain planning permission or to object to applications for their diverse range of clients. As well as mapping for them I am also their IT Manager and run all of the IT infrastructure and website. I have been a Land Surveyor for over 30 years now and have been involved in many big projects, like The London 2012 Olympics, The Millenium Dome, West Coast Main Line upgrades, The Northern Relief Road (M6 Toll) and mapping the West Midlands Safari Park. I have worked for Government Departments, local government, agencies, public bodies and private clients on asset management, infrastructure, building and environmental restoration, preservation, protection and mitigation schemes.

I am a Liberal Democrat and served the residents of Bridgnorth,  Morfe Ward, as thier councillor for 11 years at all Council levels:

• Bridgnorth Town Council (1999-2010)
• Bridgnorth District Council (1999 – 2005)
• Shropshire County Council (2001 – 2005)

In May 2017 I stood for election onto Shropshire Council for the Whittington Division and for West Felton Parish Council as an Independent. I came second for the County election with 26% of the vote and was elected onto the Parish Council despite having only recently moving to the area and being relatively unknown.

Why Piginthepoke?

When you are scratching around for a username having something distinctive and memorable is an advantage. I started using piginthepoke as a handle online while at College. It was better than having davidwalker121354564. I adopted it from the name of a bar in London.

‘Pig in a poke’ means to be sold something in a bag or ‘poke’ that you have purchased without checking only to find you purchased something you hadn’t planned to.

I adopted it in an ironic twist, as you should never judge a book by its cover and there is far more depth to me than might meet the eye. After dropping my cllrdavidwalker.org domain once I stopped being a councillor I readopted piginthepoke.org.uk for my website. My opponents, in particular, pigeonhole me because I am a Liberal Democrat and paint a caricature that is quite removed from the real me. It also serves as a warning to check the contents of the bag before you buy. At election times, electors should be aware, and they will be if they check in the bag, that unlike many councillors who are in it for either the money or to their own self-aggrandisement, I am in it to serve the community and not the other way around. I am a selfless idealist who believes that being a councillor (paid or unpaid but especially paid) means doing a job and that electors should feel confident that I am working hard for them. Whilst I was paid to do the job of being a District or County Councillor I didn’t claim any expenses.

So if you believe all councillors are slackers and are only in it for themselves then I suggest you do indeed check in the bag to see what sort of councillor you are voting for. I am confident when you look into my own bag you won’t be disappointed.

David Walker’s Biography

1969
Born in Bridgnorth a market town in Shropshire on 30th July 1969 at Bridgnorth Hospital. I then spent the first 3 years of my life living in Highley nr. Bridgnorth.

1972
My parents, younger brother and I moved back to Bridgnorth where I received my schooling at Bridgnorth County Infants School, St. Leonard’s C of E Junior School and finally in Bridgnorth Endowed School 1980>87.

1987-1991
I decided to abandon my ‘A’ level studies in pursuit of a more direct entry into my chosen career path of Cartography. I had already written to the Ordnance Survey enquiring about Cartography positions. They informed me that they were not taking on Cartographers at that time. However, they were looking for Land Surveyors. I, therefore, decided to study for an OND in Land Surveying & Cartography at De Havilland College (now called Oaklands College) 1987>1989. During this period the direction of my career shifted from Cartography to Land Surveying. From here I then progressed in further education to Hatfield Polytechnic (now known as University of Herts 1989>1991 where I studied for an HND in Engineering Surveying.

1991-present (work)
Assistant Surveyor NIGEL PAYNE, SURVEYOR / CIV. ENGINEER, BRIDGNORTH 1988
Assistant Surveyor SURVEY DATA, DROITWICH 1989
Assistant Surveyor INVAR MAPPING SURVEYS, SHREWSBURY 1990
Junior Surveyor BARRY J. LOWE FRICS, SHREWSBURY 1991
Junior Surveyor INVAR MAPPING SURVEYS, SHREWSBURY 1992>1993
Junior Surveyor/Engineer TOTAL SURVEYS Ltd, REDDITCH 1993
Surveyor/Engineer TOTAL SURVEYS Ltd 1994>1996
Senior Surveyor/Engineer TOTAL SURVEYS Ltd 1996>1998
Senior Surveyor AM SURVEYS Ltd, HALESOWEN 1998
Senior Surveyor / Webmaster Laser Surveys Ltd., WORCESTER 1998 > 2001
Senior Surveyor / Webmaster INVAR MAPPING SURVEYS, SHREWSBURY 2001 > 2009
Surveyor / IT Manager / Webmaster Green Planning Studio Ltd 2009 > present

David Walker’s involvement in local politics

1992
Depending on your point of view my first mistake was to join the Liberal Democrats. I joined during the build-up to the General election of that year. My only aim was to help the underdogs of the British political scene financially in my own modest way. I felt the Lib Dems, as I believed and still do, stood for common sense without the historical baggage and dogma associated with the two main parties, I.e. The Conservative Party & The Labour Party. Within a short space of time, I was roped into action helping deliver leaflets, labelling & folding at the campaign HQ. This proved to be an enjoyable exercise and a break from the norm.

1995
The Ludlow constituency PPC (Ian Huffer) came to visit me & asked me to run as a paper candidate in the local district council elections for the Liberal Democrats in Much Wenlock. After being reassured as to what that actually meant and that it required no effort from me I agreed.

(A paper candidate is somebody on the ballot paper so that supporters can vote for their party rather than the others. Little or no time, money & or effort is put into being elected)

However, one of the sitting Conservative candidates pulled out at the last minute leaving his local party unable to replace him. Although still on a modest level, it was decided to now go for the seat. One rushed leaflet delivered by family members & myself went out to the principle population areas. On elections night I was both relieved & disappointed not to have been elected. However, I only missed out by 38 votes so it was a good return for the effort put in.

1996
Political naivety showed its hand again when I made the mistake of going to the local AGM in Bridgnorth to see what they were doing with my money. Mistake No 2 not only saw me nominated & elected on to the branch committee but also, the position of Branch Vice-Chairman to boot. I was local branch Vice-chairman in 1996 & 1997.

1999
On May 6th, 1999 once again I stood in the Local Elections for the Liberal Democrats this time in Morfe Ward for Bridgnorth Town & Bridgnorth District Councils. This time I came second to another Lib Dem for both councils. Namely, Kit Sheldon who had represented Morfe Ward for 16 years. Kit stood down in 2003.

As there were two seats up for grabs in this Ward we were both duly elected. I sat on the Planning Committee & Best Value Working Group for the Town Council and on the Policy & Resources committee, the Leisure & Economic Development committee & the Information Technology sub-committee at Bridgnorth District Council. I was the Vice-Chairman of the latter & was selected as the District Councils representative on the Bridgnorth Community Hall committee.

2000
Whilst everybody was enjoying the millennium celebrations in Bridgnorth I was in hospital suffering from a chest infection brought on by influenza. This was a pity as according to the Times newspaper Bridgnorth was the 10th best place in the country to enjoy the millennium.

I was selected as Branch Chairman of Bridgnorth Liberal Democrats as well as the Secretary of the Independent Alliance Group on the District Council. The latter being made up of Independents & the 4 Lib Dem councillors. In this year I was elevated to Chairman of the IT sub-committee on BDC & Chairman of Planning on BTC whilst all other committees remained the same.

October 2000
On BDC as the political balance had changed I was moved onto Planning & instead of Leisure & Economic Development.

2001
This year saw me elevated to become the Vice-Chairman of Policy & Resources on Bridgnorth District Council whilst remaining Chairman of IT. On Bridgnorth Town Council I went onto Property & Grounds becoming the Vice-Chairman in the process as well as remaining the Chairman of Planning.

On June 7th, 2001 (the elections were delayed by foot and mouth) I stood in the County Council Elections for Bridgnorth Rural Division. At the count on the following Day, I was elected by 28 votes on to Shropshire County Council. During my time on SCC, I served as a member of the planning committee, education scrutiny committee and the community and environment committee.

2004
I became a cabinet member, supporting Peter Corston in his Education portfolio.

2005
I lost my County Council seat by 18 votes. Can you see a pattern 😉

2007
I lost by District Council seat. Much has been said elsewhere about this. Save to say that a backlash against a fellow candidate left a sour taste in the mouth.
I was very proud and privileged to marry Julie Anne Astbury on a sunny day in September 2007.

For our Honeymoon, we spent two weeks on the beautiful garden island of Kauai, Hawaii, USA. If you have never been to Kauai I would highly recommend it. I owe so much to the lovely people of Kauai for the time we had there and made some great friendships.

David Walker’s life torn apart by tragedy

2008
On my wife’s insistence, I joined the Freemasons… not really sure what I was letting myself in for. Sadly, she died unexpectedly, aged 40, from a torn Aorta, just 1 month before our 1st Wedding Anniversary  :`(
I completed the process of joining the Freemasons in honour of her, and to be fair I enjoyed every minute of it since, enjoying good fellowship, supporting worthy charities & further improving my character… Something she was keen to see, knowing how it helped her dad.

2009
I was laid-off and subsequently made redundant in the deepening recession. My great friend and my mentor in Freemasonry died in the Autumn. At that time I decided I would resign from the Town Council. I still needed to get my life back in order. I was laid-off in the Spring and made redundant in September. However, I remained on the Town Council until the following May and resigned at the Annual Meeting, having seen the new Mayor into office.

2010
I resigned from Bridgnorth Town Council after the Mayor making ceremony but before the Adjourned Annual Meeting in May in order to support the new Mayor into office. The previous two years had been tumultuous and some headspace was required.

David Walker’s involvement in local charities

2014
I became a trustee of Bridgnorth Housing Trust and played a key role in transforming the charity and progressing a development of 20 Almes Houses in Low Town.

2015
Worked with other Trustees to get planning permission for BHT and came up with the name Spinners Court – based on the local history of the Spinners who worked at the Carpet Factory, who lived in the area and because of the roots of the Housing Trust. I became a Trustee of the Rev Francis Wheeler’s Charity.

2016
I found lasting happiness again in my personal life. In the spring I sold the house in Telford after a refurb and purchased another 4 doors away. All in all, the recession years cost me a pretty penny so refurbs to recapitalise after the recession is the order of the day. Meanwhile, my colours were firmly pinned to Sandra’s mast in West Felton.

David Walker’s new dawn in West Felton

2017
With the Lib Dems resurgent, the next house nearing completion and happiness now firmly rooted in West Felton, with Sandra’s approval I decided to run for Shropshire Council again for Whittington Division. I was also persuaded to stand as an independent for West Felton Parish Council.

West Felton was having houses it didn’t want thanks to the Conservative’s failure to have a 5-year land supply after the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). David Walker has always been a keen advocate of affordable housing and Council Housing in particular. See the historical connections below to see why. As a professional involved in the property and construction industry, David Walker is passionate that housing supply matches need and that housing schemes are built in the right places. Neither were the case at The Cross. It is far better to build affordable housing on exception sites as part of a community led housing scheme or as council housing.

The results for elections exceeded my expectations, being relatively unknown in the area. For Whittington Division of Shropshire Council, I came 2nd with 26% of the vote and the winner’s vote share fell again. I was successfully elected onto West Felton Parish Council.

As the year drew to a close I was elected by my Lib Dem peers to be the Chairman of the North Shropshire Liberal Democrats Constituency Party at their AGM for the 2018 year. Incidentally, if you are tired of being let down by Labour and the Conservatives and would like to know How you can help North Shropshire Liberal Democrats beat the Conservatives then why not join the Lib Dems.

2018
At the Annual meeting of West Felton Parish Council, I was surprised and highly honoured to be nominated to be Chairman of the Parish Council after only a year. I turned down the opportunity and deferred to the other nominee who had already served as the Vice-Chair of the council. Instead, I was elected as the Vice-Chair for 2018/19. True to my own principles I have worked hard since my election the year before.  Something I will continue to do as a West Felton Parish Councillor, and as a Lib Dem Campaigner in Whittington Division which I aim to win in 2021.

2019
I was re-election as Vice-chairman of West Felton Parish Council.
Sandra and I have gotten engaged with a wedding scheduled for the summer of 2020. My 10th anniversary working for Green Planning Studio Ltd will arrive in September.

David Walker’s Historical connections in local politics

Now I have been a councillor I have continued the family tradition in Bridgnorth local politics. Above is a picture of my Great Grandfather Arthur Harrison who was Mayor of Bridgnorth in 1945-46 receiving the key to the first council house on Syndey Cottage Drive. Which my father still possesses. He moved to Oldbury, just outside Bridgnorth, from Broseley and represented Castle ward from 1940 until his death in 1957. He was an Alderman who was raised to the Aldermanic bench upon becoming Mayor.

Following him was his son-in-law & my Uncle, Jeff Walker, who was Mayor of Bridgnorth in 1975 -76. He too was a Councillor of many years standing for both Town & District councils and their predecessors.

Being Mayor is a great privilege & honour which costs the individual a great deal of money. This was especially true when my Great Grandfather was Mayor. Indeed, he is reported to have told his fellow councillors of the time ‘don’t elect me as mayor again as I can’t afford it’. Politically we are based in different camps but we all shared the same objective – looking out for the best interest of and serving the local community.

David Walker now practices in West Felton Parish and the wider Whittington Division. If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well and as always I will lead by example. ‘Do as I do not as I say’ is definitely a good motto to live by.