Ketley Parish Council seat win for Independent candidate

Independent candidate Helen Barker won the Ketley Parish Council by-election in Telford by just nine votes.

Mrs Barker beat off a Conservative challenge as Labour was pushed into third place in one of the party’s strongholds in the town.

It was the only election taking place in Telford & Wrekin as the borough council’s next full election is due in 2027.

Retired Mrs Barker, aged 60, said she was “relieved and slightly stunned” after polling 236 votes to win the vacant Ketley ward seat which became vacant when the previous councillor resigned.

Mrs Barker is well known in Telford local government circles after holding officer posts at Lawley Parish Council and Newport Parish Council. She did not campaign online, instead preferring to meet people face to face.

“In the time you spend arguing with one person on Facebook, you can meet 100 in the community,” she said.

Mrs Barker, said she picked up a strong sense of identity in Ketley.

“There is a strong Ketley identity and people are proud of it,” she said.

“People were concerned that the local boundary review and told me that they are Ketley and want to stay Ketley.”

She said there is also concern at “ad hoc developments”, potholes and parking. It is the first time she has stood for election and was supported by other Independents.

Mrs Barker said: “I know that I will deliver what I promised and thank everyone who voted for me. I said on my leaflets that I would work on behalf of residents and will do that.

“I will find out what the issues are and follow them through with my fellow Independent councillors.”

Mrs Barker said she picked up an “anti-party politics” sentiment on the doorsteps.

“People are disillusioned with party politics and at local council level that is very much what it should be.”

Conservative candidate Paul Savage, aged 56, picked up 227 votes to finish second, nine votes behind the winner.

The married father of seven, and also grandfather of seven is an engineer working part time for BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness.

He said the main issue he picked up was the “number of elderly people isolated in the community.” He said parish councils could do something to help. He also said anti-social behaviour and school parking were concerns among local people.

Mr Savage said he intends to keep fighting elections and has his eye on a seat in nearby Hadley, where he lives.

Labour candidate Dylan Shinton polled 145 votes. Neither Mr Shinton nor his agent attended to hear the result in person.

At the elections in 2023 there were eight seats up for grabs in Ketley ward, with six being won by Labour, one by an independent and one by a Conservative.

The last person to cast their vote at Ketley Community Centre on Thursday, May 1, was a Labour voter who managed to cast his cross with less than a quarter of an hour to spare before the polls closed at 10pm.

He said he was voting because “people in other countries don’t get the chance to do that.” He was also happy to vote once more for the party he supports.

Telford & Wrekin Conservative councillor Rachael Tyrrell said she was “hugely disappointed to lose by such a narrow margin”. But she said she was delighted that the Tories “hammered Labour” in one of their “strongholds”.

“Two years ago, Labour won 52 per cent of the vote here,” she said. “This is sending a message to Labour on the parish council.

“We will continue to build on our gains.”

Councillor Tyrrell praised Mrs Barker as an “excellent candidate”.

The result in full: Helen Barker (Ind) 236 votes; Paul Savage (Conservative) 227 votes; Dylan Shinton (Labour) 145 votes. Number of postal votes: 437; number of votes cast at the polling station: 178. Total votes: 615. Electorate: 2,682. Turnout 22.93 per cent. Seven ballot papers were rejected.

Story by David Tooley – Local Democracy Reporter

Pic: Cllr Helen Barker (Ind) by LDRS