North Shropshire.
Liberal Democrats MP Helen Morgan holds the seat on 52.9% of the vote.
3 Jun 2026
Vocal opposition to the government's planning reforms and a rebel vote against her own party on immigration set Helen Morgan apart from the typical Liberal Democrat backbencher. In May 2025 she was the only Lib Dem to back a Conservative amendment that would have curtailed the Human Rights Act's application to immigration cases -- a significant break from a party that strongly opposed the move. More recently, she has been prominent in local news for challenging what she calls a government "power grab" on planning, leading campaigns on rural road safety, and raising the cost of heating oil for off-grid households directly with the Chancellor.
Morgan votes with the Lib Dems on roughly 99.7% of divisions, making her single rebel vote all the more conspicuous. Her participation rate -- 75% of votes cast -- sits somewhat below the Commons average, though that figure is typical for MPs with heavy constituency workloads. Her stance profile shows consistent support for Lords scrutiny (97%) and parliamentary accountability (95%), and she backed the motion to refer Keir Starmer to the Privileges Committee over the Mandelson affair. She has opposed the government's pension fund investment powers and sided with the Lords repeatedly on the English Devolution Bill. Her immigration-control score sits 15 points above her party's average, underlining a pattern of harder-line positioning on that issue than most Lib Dem colleagues.
Morgan chairs the Digital Communities All-Party Parliamentary Group and has led debates on rural mobile connectivity -- reflecting the practical concerns of a dispersed, rural constituency that returned her in a landmark 2021 by-election. Her speech record tilts heavily toward health, local government, and social care. No committee membership is recorded. News coverage over the past 90 days is broadly neutral in tone, with health and transport generating the most positive sentiment.
Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line.
| Ward | Latest winner | Votes | Council | Last cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellesmere Urban | Geoff Elner | 517 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Llanymynech | Vince Hunt | 601 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Market Drayton East | Roy Aldcroft | 772 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Market Drayton West(2 seats) | Minnery · Nellins | 1,452 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Oswestry East(2 seats) | Schofield · Price | 1,556 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Oswestry South | Duncan Kerr | 760 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Oswestry West | Mike Isherwood | 548 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Prees | Paul Wynn | 991 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Ruyton Baschurch | Nick Bardsley | 652 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Selattyn Gobowen(2 seats) | Macey · Jones | 1,604 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Shawbury | Simon Jones | 783 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| St Martins | Steve Davenport | 688 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| St Oswald | Joyce Barrow | 755 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| The Meres | Brian Williams | 868 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Wem(2 seats) | Towers · Broomhall | 2,074 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Whitchurch North(2 seats) | Mullock · Biggins | 1,976 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Whitchurch South | Gerald Dakin | 588 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
| Whittington | Steve Charmley | 638 | Shropshire Con | May 2021 |
Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The seat’s population is concentrated in Rural & dispersed (21,091), with Oswestry (17,511) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 100,945.
Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021
| Settlement | Pop. | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Rural & dispersed | 21,091 | town |
| Oswestry | 17,511 | town |
| Market Drayton | 12,588 | town |
| Whitchurch (Shropshire) | 10,142 | town |
| Wem | 6,282 | town |
| Ellesmere | 4,975 | village |
Headline indicators.
| Indicator | Local | National | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment rate | 56.3% | 57.1% | -1% |
| Owner-occupied | 70.1% | 63.1% | +11% |
| Private rented | 16.9% | 20.0% | -15% |
| Social rented | 12.9% | 16.8% | -23% |
Ethnicity.
Source · Census 2021
Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band
Income tax contribution.
| Total income tax | £247m |
| Taxpayers | 52,000 |
| Median per taxpayer | £2,490 |
| Mean per taxpayer | £4,710 |
Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence
Where the money flows back in.
This constituency is served by Shropshire. Each council’s service spend, peer rank and supplier list lives on its own page — open from the meta block above or the compass strip below.
Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.
Headline rate.
By category.
Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop
2024 — full result.
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helen MorganWON | LD | 26,214 | 52.9 |
| Simon Baynes | Con | 10,903 | 22.0 |
| Mark Whittle | Ref | 7,687 | 15.5 |
| Natalie Rowley | Lab | 3,423 | 6.9 |
| Craig Emery | Grn | 1,234 | 2.5 |
| Samuel Cladingbowl | Ind | 133 | 0.3 |
Turnout 49,594
Prior contests.
| Year | Winner | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Helen Margaret Lilian Morgan | LD | 47.2 |
| 2019 | Owen Paterson | Con | 62.7 |
| 2017 | Owen Paterson | Con | 60.5 |
| 2015 | Owen Paterson | Con | 51.4 |
| 2010 | Paterson, Owen | Con | 51.5 |
Sources, methods & last update
2023 boundary review
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
±8% confidence
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo