Shropshire Council: Leader loses seat but Tories keep control

The leader of Shropshire Council said it was a "privilege" to represent the county after losing his seat.

Conservative Peter Nutting lost Copthorne ward to Liberal Democrat Rob Wilson by 519 votes.

But his party kept control of the authority with four fewer seats, and is set to elect a new leader at its annual general meeting in the coming weeks.

Labour also bucked the national trend, by gaining three seats in the election.

All 74 of the authority's seats were contested on Thursday.

The Green Party took three more seats to have four on the council and the Liberal Democrats' tally went from 12 to 14 seats.

Following his win, Mr Wilson thanked Mr Nutting for his decades of service.

Mr Nutting said: "It has been a privilege to represent Copthorne on Shrewsbury and Atcham and Shropshire Council over the years and I will continue to take an active part in the community."

Labour went in to the election with six seats but increased their tally to nine - equalling their previous highest total from 2013.

Despite losing seats, the Conservative party was able to reach the 38 required in order to keep majority control.

Their losses included their defeat in the Market Drayton West ward where David Minnery, who the party had chosen not to select, won as an independent candidate.

Turnout for the election was 38.5%.

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