Heather Kidd, Leader-elect of Shropshire Council
The Leader-elect of Shropshire Council has announced the roles and members of the first Cabinet for her new administration.
Councillor Heather Kidd will lead a ten-strong team after her Liberal Democrat group was voted the majority party on Shropshire Council following elections earlier this month.
The new administration have fired the starting gun on change, pledging the delivery of immediate action on their key priorities.
The Cabinet is as follows:
- Leader – Cllr Heather Kidd
- Deputy Leader & Communities – Cllr Alex Wagner
- Finance – Cllr Roger Evans
- Social Care – Cllr Ruth Houghton
- Children & Education – Cllr Andy Hall
- Planning – Cllr David Walker
- Highways & Environment – Cllr David Vasmer
- Housing & Leisure – Cllr James Owen
- Transport & Economic Growth – Cllr Rob Wilson
- Health & Public Protection – Cllr Bernie Bentick
All posts are subject to confirmation at the first meeting of the new council, which takes place on 22 May [2025]
This meeting is set to also appoint cross-party chairs of scrutiny committees, a move which would be a first for a majority administration at Shropshire, to help open up council processes.
Council Leader-elect Heather Kidd said:
“We’ve brought together a strong team that are raring to go, serving communities across Shropshire as the new Cabinet.
“There’s a really good breadth of experience, a number of strong public and private sector backgrounds, and councillors from all corners of the county.
“I believe this a very powerful mix of talent who will be laser-focused on delivering the change that Shropshire has voted for.
“This will mean reducing spend on consultants, repairing even more potholes, improving customer service across the council and resetting our relationship with town and parish councils to deliver better partnership working.
“Everyone knows that this will be difficult – and we still face very a tough financial situation – but the new administration is working to hit the ground running.
“We really feel that with fresh thinking and a new and different approach, we can change Shropshire Council for the better.”
Photos of the new Cabinet members can be found on the council’s Flickr page.
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