Shropshire Council candidates lay out priorities ahead of vote

Three candidates will compete in a by-election to select a new Shropshire councillor for Bishop’s Castle.

George Thompson (Conservatives), Andy Stelman (Labour) and Ruth Houghton (Liberal Democrats) will contest the poll on September 12.

It comes following the resignation of Liberal Democrat Jonny Keeley, who has represented the town at Shirehall since 2016.

Conservative candidate, George Thompson, wants to campaign for more affordable housing, better public transport and better internet connectivity for homes and businesses.

Mr Thompson said: “I am delighted to be the Conservative candidate for Bishop’s Castle in the upcoming by-election.

“If we want to start to change some of the longstanding issues that affect the town and surrounding area – like insufficient public transport links, a lack of affordable housing, inadequate highway maintenance and poor broadband speeds – then we need a change of direction from our representation in Shirehall.

“I will be campaigning hard to be Bishop’s Castle’s next councillor so I can fight for these issues and more, and hope local residents will support my campaign.”

Proud

Andy Stelman, the Labour party candidate, hopes to ensure the town of Bishop's Castle remains a vibrant place and wants to ensure that the old newsagents’ shop is either rented out or at least maintained to safeguard the fabric of the building.

He believes that the Shropshire Council marginalises the town and surrounding villages in order to fund big projects in urban centres such as Shrewsbury and will fight tooth and nail to see that there is an equal playing field in terms of resource allocation.

Mr Stelman is a proud member of Extinction Rebellion and sees the climate emergency as the highest priority for everyone.

Gren Jackson, secretary of the local Labour branch, said: “Labour Party membership in the Bishop’s Castle Ward has grown since 2016 and we have established a dedicated local branch of over 50 members. We are ready to get the Labour message over.

The Liberal Democrat candidate, Ruth Houhgton, has set out five local priorities for the next five years, if she is elected.

These are strengthening the local economy through developing the business park, improving broadband and mobile phone coverage, pushing for a 30mph limit in Lydham village, getting more affordable and shared ownership housing in Bishop’s Castle and developing local services such as buses, the library, Enterprise House and the leisure centre at SpArC.

She said: “Many people are concerned about threats to our valued services such as SpArC and the library. As we live in a very rural area we tend to be the first to suffer when the council seeks to cut expenditure, as was threatened recently with our 553 bus service.

“We need a councillor who will fight to ensure that Bishop’s Castle and the villages and hamlets in the area get their fair share of resources."