Lib Dems hold on to Bishop's Castle seat in by-election

Ruth Houghton, of Ludlow Liberal Democrats, won the Bishop's Castle seat for Shropshire Council in a by-election with 71 per cent of the votes.

The results followed Thursday's election, and showed the Liberal Democrats had 838 votes, the Conservatives had 229 (19 per cent) and Labour had 107 (nine per cent).

Councillor Houghton, who has been a member of Bishop's Castle Town Council since 2015, said: "I am delighted to have been elected as the Liberal Democrat Shropshire councillor for Bishop's Castle.

"My job now is to represent the people of Bishop's Castle and to make sure that the services we value are secured for everyone in our community. I will also follow up on the many issues raised on my doorstop chats; potholes and housing being the two main issues to start with.

"I am overwhelmed by the support that I have received through the votes cast and very pleased with the majority. Since winning I have received many messages of support and good wishes too and would like to thank everyone that voted for me.

Volunteers

"I couldn't have achieved this without the support of the many volunteers who helped in many ways including leaflet delivery and canvassing. The local Liberal Democrat team have all been amazingly supportive."

A by-election was called after former councillor Jonny Keeley resigned this year due to family commitments. He originally won his seat in 2016 and was re-elected the following year.

Votes have fallen since 2016 for the Liberal Democrats by around 25 votes, as well as the Conservatives, whose votes have fallen by nearly half this year.

However, there were also around 200 fewer voters this year.