A Cheswardine parish councillor has pledged that his association with the British National Party (BNP) will have no bearing on his new role.
Councillor Phil Reddall was co-opted unanimously onto the council during a meeting at the Parish Hall on Tuesday.
Councillor Reddall, 32, who has been a BNP member for seven years, replaces Heidi Jensen who resigned as a Cheswardine parish councillor last year.
He said: “Obviously, I’m very pleased to join the council and I’m very keen to do the best I can for the local community because that’s what the parish council is all about.
“As it was a co-option and not an election, I didn’t know how it was going to work but I resigned myself to whatever decision the council made and I hope they just see me for who I am. I’ve lived in Cheswardine for just over a year and I was quite impressed by the village when I moved here.
“Coming from an urban area like the West Midlands, I found that I could really settle into village life and I want to play a part in keeping it that way.”
Councillor Reddall, who lives with his fiancee and eight-month-old son, stood as a BNP candidate for North Shropshire in May’s General Election and for Market Drayton West in last year’s Shropshire Council elections.
He said: “Anyone with any kind of interest in politics will know who I am and if people are uneasy about that, I just want them to base their opinion on what I will do as time passes.
“Quite simply, parish councils are not at all party political and my honest reasons for getting involved in Cheswardine as a parish councillor is a genuine concern for village issues.”
Parish council chairman Councillor Tony Palmer said: “We judged Phil on how he came across to us, what he had to say and what his intentions were on doing work for the council.
“On all those issues, he came across very well and he seemed keen to do things for the council.
“Regarding any sort of political affiliation, no other councillors are asked what political parties they support or what political activity they take part in.
“The key thing is to treat people equally and I believe everyone should have an equal opportunity to prove themselves, so Phil will be judged on his merits.”
By Winston Brown