THE Shropshire Council local elections for 2021 have already proven to be a tense affair as the results roll in on Saturday, and this is where we are at the halfway stage.
While Shropshire Council's own Twitter feed keeps everyone entertained – and us too it has to be said – councillors and their challengers, or newbies aiming for a fresh go, have been finding out their fate at Sundorne in Shrewsbury.
With votes being counted and declared all the way through to Saturday night, here's what we know so far:
Oswestry:
Current town mayor Councillor Duncan Kerr is back at Shirehall after he defeated Paul Milner, – to whom he paid tribute for his hard work – while his predecessors in the role, Cllrs John Price and Chris Schofield have also been elected.
In Gobowen, Selattyn and Weston Rhyn, Rob Macey and Mark Jones have been returned but it was a closer than expected run for Cllr Steve Charmley, who only just kept his seat.
Whitchurch:
Cllrs Peggy Mullock and Tom Biggins have again won in Whitchurch North; the former comfortably voted in but Cllr Biggins was pushed hard by Lib Dem man Nick Saxby.
The Yellow vote was split between Mr Saxby and Ron Kelley, and like the Greens in 2017, who knows how Cllr Biggins would have fared with a single candidate.
Paul Wynn was returned in Prees.
Wem:
Edward Towers and Peter Broomhall were elected by the residents of Wem, replacing retired duo Pauline Dee and Chris Mellings.
The pair are stalwarts of the town council, and will be a good set of hands for the town at Shirehall.
Elsewhere in north Shropshire, there has been an upset of sorts in Market Drayton as David Minnery, standing as an Independent, has defeated his Conservative successor Mark Whittle after he was deselected.
Counting is expected to end at around 8.15pm, with Whitchurch South the last to be declared, but a vital vote in Llanymynech, where Vince Hunt has moved to following Matt Lee's standing down, is due at 5.50pm.
Peter Nutting's Copthorne seat is also up for grabs 10 minutes earlier.
Steve Davenport's St Martins seat will be announced at 7.10pm while Oswestry West will be 40 minutes earlier.
As of 3.50pm, the Conservatives have 28, Labour eight, Liberal Democrats six, Greens are on two and Independent two.
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