Newly-elected parish councillor makes pledge to local area
A newly-elected first-time parish councillor has thanked residents for their “outstanding vote of confidence”, and promised to help improve the area he has lived in since the 1990s.
Iain Alexander won 73 per cent of the vote to take the vacant seat in the Muxton ward of Donnington and Muxton Parish Council.
The Conservative, who works as a procurement and commercial consultant, said he hoped to work with local police to make the roads safer and Telford and Wrekin Council to monitor contractors’ work and get “better value out of our council tax contributions”.
The by-election was called after the resignation of incumbent councillor Mark Stokes. Cllr Alexander polled 764 votes, with Labour’s Christine Lord receiving 227 and Liberal Democrat David Ellams on 51, on a turnout of just under 23 per cent.
Cllr Alexander thanked voters for placing their trust in him and thanked the party for its support.
“My passion for the local community and its surrounding environment certainly shone through, as you can see by the outstanding vote of confidence for me and the Conservative Party,” he said.
“I have lived in Muxton for 26 years and brought up my four children here. I could see how well the Conservative Party were doing in Muxton so I decided it was time to stand as a parish councillor. When I told people, I had an overwhelming response from the community to help them improve the environment we live in.
“I am looking forward to enhancing our community by making our roads safer by working with the police and council to enforce the speed limits, improve our footpaths, protect our green spaces, provide more facilities for our children and elderly to use and get better value out of our council tax contributions.”
Cllr Alexander added: “Donnington and Muxton Parish Council are responsible for managing their own budgets and have a range of powers and duties in relation to the community they serve. This money is used to improve facilities and services for local people. Therefore, we actively encourage input from residents on what the community needs.”
Muxton is a five-member ward at parish council level. At the last all-out election, in 2019, Conservative candidates won all five seats with 79 per cent of votes cast.
Then parish council chairman Philip Loughlin resigned his seat his February this year, and fellow Conservative Jenny Urey won the resulting by-election three months later, receiving 1,348 votes. Ms Lord was also Labour’s candidate in that election, and received 463 votes.
