We've hit rock bottom - new Tory leader

The new leader of the Conservative group on Shropshire Council has said support for the party has "hit rock bottom" in the county.

Dan Thomas, 33, has taken the reins of a Tory group that lost 30 seats at this month's election - and with it, control of the council.

Both the Liberal Democrats, who will form the next administration, and Reform UK took seats from the Conservative group on 1 May.

The party is now the third largest group on the council having held just seven seats.

Shropshire's Conservative influence has been in freefall in recent years, with the party losing support in almost every vote since the last set of Shropshire Council elections in May 2021.

The party unexpectedly lost the North Shropshire parliamentary seat to Lib Dem Helen Morgan in the 2021 by-election; four councillors in the 2023 set of Telford and Wrekin Council elections; and two further MPs, in Shrewsbury and Telford, in last year's general election.

The nail in the coffin was losing control of Shropshire Council, in a large, rural county, which the Tories had led since it became a unitary authority in 2009.

"In our worst nightmares we didn't think we'd be down this low, to just seven [councillors]," said Dan Thomas, a father-of-two from Much Wenlock, who was elected in 2021 along with 42 other Conservatives.

"It's a real shame because there were so many respected, hardworking Conservative councillors who lost their seats.

"I can't see it getting any worse," he added.

Despite his party's dire performance in this month's local elections, Dan Thomas did incredibly well in Much Wenlock, receiving more than 50% of the vote.

The new town mayor for 2025-26 said he was "relieved" to have kept his seat but described the loss of experienced politicians, from all parties, as "ugly".

He blamed national politics and a lack of central government funding for the decline of Conservative support since 2021.

"When things aren't going well it's the parties in power that pay the price and we saw that with the general election last year," Thomas said.

"For us, [introducing a] garden waste charge didn't help, but that's something we had to do because that's £4m of revenue, which has made a massive difference to the council's finances.

"We weren't good enough at explaining that to the electorate.

"We were ultimately, and the Liberal Democrat group will be the same, asking people to pay more tax but essentially get less."

Thomas has replaced Lezley Picton, who led Shropshire Council from 2021, as leader of the Conservative group. She announced earlier this year that she would not be standing for re-election.

"We can certainly come back," said Thomas, who lives in Much Wenlock with his US wife Sara and two children, Eric and Penelope, aged three and 18 months.

"We need to define what we are and win the battle on the economy.

"Whether it's in Westminster or in Shropshire, we must be responsible in opposition to show that we're the grown ups."

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