Five takeaways from the general election in Shropshire

Julia Buckley, who will be Shrewsbury's first female MP, first stood in a general election in Shropshire in 2017

It was a remarkable set of general election results in Shropshire on Thursday, dramatically shifting the political make-up of the county.

Here are five key moments from the night.

Shrewsbury's first female MP

Julia Buckley has made history in Shrewsbury by becoming the town's first ever female MP.

The Labour politician was the only woman to stand in the constituency at this general election.

Mrs Buckley was a friend of the murdered MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed in 2016.

"A friend texted me yesterday to say that Jo would have been really proud that she had inspired me to stand up and be counted.

"It's really hard for women to stand in politics, there are lots of hurdles and barriers to overcome."

Lib Dems win the most votes

Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan retained her North Shropshire seat, winning 53% of the vote share

Despite only winning one seat in Shropshire, the Liberal Democrats received the most votes in the county for the first time ever.

The party won the support of 48,940 voters across North Shropshire, Shrewsbury and South Shropshire.

The Conservatives came second with 8,832 fewer votes than the Lib Dems.

Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan was re-elected in North Shropshire, a seat she won from the Conservatives during a by-election in 2021, ending 200 years of Tory success.

Council leader takes Telford for Labour

Shaun Davies has been leader of Telford and Wrekin Council for eight years, but will formally stand down on 18 July

Telford and Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies took the Telford constituency from the Conservatives, with a 45% share of the vote.

Mr Davies said he will stand down as leader of the council on 18 July.

"For the past eight years, as leader of the council, my team and I have served Telford, and this duty of service remains in my blood as I start my new job as the Member of Parliament for Telford," he said.

Reform UK is popular across the county

Alan Adams, a Telford businessman, was backed by the town's former Tory MP, Lucy Allan, who broke with political conventions to tell people to vote for him

Reform UK polled well across all five Shropshire constituencies.

Their vote share ranged from 15% to 25%.

Telford's candidate Alan Adams took a quarter of the vote share on Thursday.

The town's former Conservative MP Lucy Allan broke with convention in May and told Tory voters to back Reform at this election rather than her own party.

She said Mr Adams was the candidate most in touch with Telford people.

Independent candidate: ‘I almost voted for Lib Dem Helen Morgan’

Samuel Cladingbowl recently sat his A-Levels

An independent candidate in North Shropshire almost voted for another candidate.

Samuel Cladingbowl said he considered voting for Helen Morgan, who won North Shropshire for the Liberal Democrats, because he wanted her to win.

He received just 133 votes, which means he won't receive his £500 deposit back for standing at a parliamentary election.