Elections

England council results

Number of councillors

23 of 23 councils. Counting complete.

  • Reform UK: 677 councillors, 677 councillors gained
  • Liberal Democrat: 370 councillors, 163 councillors gained
  • Conservative: 319 councillors, 674 councillors lost
  • Labour: 98 councillors, 187 councillors lost
  • Independent: 89 councillors, 20 councillors lost
  • Green: 79 councillors, 44 councillors gained

Summary

  • Liberal Democrats take control of Shropshire Council

  • Reform UK also picked up seats, including in former council leader Lezley Picton's old ward

  • Several senior Tories including deputy leader Ian Nellins, Vince Hunt and Gwilym Butler have lost their seats

  • Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey handed out ice creams in Shrewsbury, claiming Tory support had "melted"

  • The picture has varied from neighbouring counties, where Reform UK made strong gains in neighbouring Staffordshire and Worcestershire

  1. Wins for Lib Dems and Conservativespublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 2 May

    The Lib Dems have won in Longden - their joint group leader Roger Evans holds his seat.

    Elsewhere, Colin Stanford of the Conservative Party is councillor in Corvedale.

  2. Lib Dems take Cheswardinepublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 2 May

    There has been another Lib Dem winner - this time in the Cheswardine division.

    Their councillor is Neil Bentley.

    The votes weren't too far apart in numbers though - Lib Dems had 470, while Reform had 455 and Conservatives 405.

  3. Atmosphere still lively in bowling clubpublished at 17:54 British Summer Time 2 May

    Chloe Hughes
    BBC News

    A crowd of people inside a bowling club, sitting or standing in groups

    People are gathered in the bowling club, chatting animatedly and waiting for more results.

    All you can see are brightly coloured rosettes and many, many packets of crisps.

    Parties are grouping together, squashed around tables or standing in packs.

    The crowded area is a direct contrast to the empty expanse of the bowling green.

    An empty wooden podium in front of a Shropshire council banner. A bowling green is in the background
  4. Reform take a south-east clusterpublished at 17:49 British Summer Time 2 May

    Sharon Ann Ritchie-Simmons of Reform UK has been elected as the councillor for Highley with 537 votes.

    The Lib Dems trailed behind with 415.

    It's the latest in a series of wins for Reform in south-east Shropshire - we just heard about Clee, and a little while ago from Stottesdon, Kinlet and Hopton Wafers.

  5. Reform snatch victory from Lib Dems in Cleepublished at 17:45 British Summer Time 2 May

    Reform have snatched another division from the Lib Dems in Clee.

    Charles Shackerley-Bennett is the new councillor.

    Just 44 votes were in it though.

    Reform UK are having a fantastic day in Shropshire.

  6. Conservatives cheer for victory in Much Wenlockpublished at 17:42 British Summer Time 2 May

    A large win for the Conservative Party in Much Wenlock - 844 votes.

    Dan Thomas is elected as the councillor.

    Coming in second was the Lib Dems with 388.

    Huge cheers in the room for the winning party, despite the Conservatives being all but wiped from the electoral map across the wider county.

    Going into this election they held 37 seats.

  7. Another big victory for Lib Demspublished at 17:41 British Summer Time 2 May

    The Lib Dems have had another significant victory, this time in Ludlow South.

    Viv Parry won with 796 votes, while Reform had 367.

    The other parties only got ballot numbers in double figures - Conservatives with 89, Greens with 58 and Labour bringing up the rear with 20.

  8. Only one party can win a majoritypublished at 17:39 British Summer Time 2 May

    With two-thirds of the seats counted, no party except the Liberal Democrats can take full control of the council.

    There are 24 seats left to declare, and even if any other party won all of them, they'd still fall short of the 38 winning line.

    Of course, the Lib Dems could also fall short of a majority, but they're clearly ahead.

    Bar chart showing result of council election in Shropshire as it stands. Liberal Democrat Councillors 28 Change since 2021 +18, Reform UK Councillors 9 Change since 2021 +9, Conservative Councillors 5 Change since 2021 -22, Green Councillors 4 Change since 2021 0, Labour Councillors 4 Change since 2021 -4, Independent Councillors 0 Change since 2021 -1. After 50 of 74 seats declared
  9. Two further victories for Lib Demspublished at 17:34 British Summer Time 2 May

    More wins for the Lib Dems - this time in Clun and Burnell.

    Their councillors are Samuel Walmsley and Chris Naylor.

    The turnout was also higher than many areas, at 48.9% in Clun and 50.1% in Burnell.

    The Lib Dems are out in front by a long way now.

  10. Greens win in Oswestry Southpublished at 17:31 British Summer Time 2 May

    The Greens have taken Oswestry South, with 445 votes - just more than double their nearest rival, Reform, who took 222.

    The Green councillor is Duncan Kerr.

  11. Reform win againpublished at 17:31 British Summer Time 2 May

    Reform has won in Stottesdon, Kinlet and Hopton Wafers.

    David Davies is named the councillor.

  12. Tern turns to Reformpublished at 17:29 British Summer Time 2 May

    Tern has been won by Reform UK - its councillor is Brendan Mallon.

    He took a 34.6% share of the vote, 135 votes clear of the Lib Dems.

    Reform did not have a single councillor on Shropshire Council before today.

    In 2016, they had 97 votes across the county - a seismic change for the party.

    The former representative for Tern was council leader Lezley Picton, who has stood down.

  13. Recounts taking placepublished at 17:26 British Summer Time 2 May

    Elizabeth Glinka
    Political Editor, BBC Midlands

    There are seven recounts currently taking place for wards in the Shropshire Council elections, with one ward set to be decided by a coin toss or the drawing of lots.

    A third recount is currently under way for the Bridgnorth South and Alveley Ward with a tie between the Lib Dems and Reform, who both had 508 votes at the last count.

    Should the latest recount deliver the same result the councillor for the ward will be decided by the drawing of lots.

  14. Two Reform councillors in St Martin'spublished at 17:25 British Summer Time 2 May

    Two Reform candidates have won in the St Martin's division.

    The division used to have one councillor, but after the re-jig, now has two.

    Its new councillors are Brian Evans and Carl Rowley, who received 626 and 700 votes respectively.

  15. Further win for the Lib Demspublished at 17:14 British Summer Time 2 May

    Another win for the Lib Dems - this time in Oswestry North East.

    Their new councillor is James Owen, who took 42.3% of the votes cast. Turnout was just 29.1%, however.

    The Conservatives came in fourth, with just 89 votes.

  16. Greens win in Selattyn and Gobowenpublished at 17:09 British Summer Time 2 May

    The Greens have won in the Selattyn and Gobowen division.

    Craig Emery is the new councillor. He won by more than 100 votes from the Lib Dems.

  17. Halliday retains Belle Vuepublished at 17:06 British Summer Time 2 May

    Labour's Kate Halliday has been elected as councillor for Belle Vue.

    She had 829 votes, while other parties had substantially less.

    Her closest rival was the Reform UK candidate with 279 votes.

  18. Huge blow to Shropshire Conservativespublished at 17:00 British Summer Time 2 May

    Rob Trigg
    Political reporter, BBC Shropshire

    Ian Nellins has short brown and grey hair and is wearing a red and blue shirt, with a blue Shropshire Council lanyard
    Image caption,

    Ian Nellins is deputy leader of the Conservatives

    Deputy leader Ian Nellins, who people will know as the face of the £56 garden waste charge, has lost his seat - Market Drayton North

    It is a huge blow to the morale of the Tory group - made worse by the fact he came third, behind Liberal Democrat Jeremy Blandford who won the seat, and Reform UK candidate Lana Jacobson.

    Mr Nellins, a former Army Major, would have probably led the group on the council if he had won today.

  19. Halfway therepublished at 16:49 British Summer Time 2 May

    Results are coming in thick and fast.

    The Liberal Democrats have won in Whitchurch West - their councillor is Abdul Shamim.

    Meanwhile, Ed Potter is the Conservative councillor for Loton.

    We're halfway through the counts, with the Liberal Democrats still firmly in the driving seat.

    Bar chart showing result of council election in Shropshire as it stands. Liberal Democrat Councillors 23 Change since 2021 +15, Reform UK Councillors 5 Change since 2021 +5, Conservative Councillors 4 Change since 2021 -14, Labour Councillors 3 Change since 2021 -4, Green Councillors 2 Change since 2021 -1, Independent Councillors 0 Change since 2021 -1. After 37 of 74 seats declared.
  20. Wins for Conservatives and Labourpublished at 16:40 British Summer Time 2 May

    Nick Hignett of the Conservative Party is councillor for Rea Valley.

    Labour's Caroline Bagnall wins in Broseley.