Freedom Of Information Request to Shropshire Council
The Fight Against Foreign Frebies
Dear Editor,
Current information uncovered by local campaigner Andrew Radford has raised serious concerns about how Shropshire Council is spending public money on social activities for illegally entered individuals, asylum seekers and non-British citizens.
Following a Freedom of Information request submitted by Mr Radford, it has been revealed that over £85,000 has been spent in recent years on entertainment and social activities for those who either have no right to be here or are claiming asylum in the county. This includes cinema trips, yoga classes, podcast workshops, football match tickets, theatre visits, leisure memberships, and even a “Father Christmas cultural event” at Shrewsbury Museum.
In 2024–25 alone, the almost bankrupt Shropshire Council reported spending £65,684.84 on Ukrainian refugees and £1,200 on Afghan refugees for these types of activities. An additional £4,500+ of the council budget was spent for transportation costs to and from these events.
Worse may still be to come, as it would appear that many individual ethnicity groups were left off the requested list, with a new FOI request now requesting the missing information.
Perhaps most concerning is that the council admitted it does not keep records of staff hours or time spent on organising these activities, meaning the actual cost of salaries, staff resources, and departmental workload is still unknown.
The council said that the money was ring-fenced Home Office money, not local council tax. However, as Mr Radford points out, this is still public money and must be subject to complete transparency and proper scrutiny. At a time when British families are struggling to access basic services and cannot afford similar activities for their children, many residents will rightly question whether this is the best use of taxpayer funds.
Only Reform UK has committed to carrying out D.O.G.E. Style inspections (Departmental Oversight of Government Expenditure) across all government departments to expose waste, enforce accountability, and ensure that the needs of British citizens come first. Mr Radford, who hopes to become the next MP for The Wrekin, has pledged to fight for complete financial transparency at every level of government, from Whitehall to Shropshire Council.
The people of The Wrekin deserve to know how their local money is being spent, and they deserve elected representatives willing to ask the tough questions and put local priorities first.
Yours faithfully,
The Campaign Team
on behalf of
Andy Radford
Reform UK Parliamentary Candidate for The Wrekin
Stop the solar farms
Decorated War Hero Leads Local Opposition to Stop the Solar Farm’s
A decorated British Army veteran is leading growing local opposition within The Wrekin to proposed solar farms in Wellington and Sutton on Tern, warning that they threaten Shropshire’s green spaces and community rights under the guise of government-imposed Net Zero targets.
Andrew Radford CGC, a recipient of the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, is Reform UK’s Campaign Manager and County Organiser for The Wrekin and has vowed to fight against plans for local industrial-scale solar developments on farmland. Radford, who served over 18 years in the British Army, says local people are being “railroaded” by top-down green initiatives that ignore the will of rural communities.
“This isn’t about clean energy – it’s about control,” said Radford. “Solar panels should go on rooftops and brownfield sites, not across our countryside. What’s happening here in our local town and village fields is part of a national pattern of Net Zero enforced on everyday people, without proper consultation or consent.”
The proposed sites cover productive agricultural land and have already sparked concern among nearby residents. They fear the extra traffic, especially in Wellington, which would run close to a local school, could permanently change the area's character and lead to the loss of farmland and local wildlife habitat.
Radford has been meeting with residents, speaking at parish meetings, and organising grassroots opposition under the Reform UK banner. He says that, while he supports responsible environmental policy, “climate goals should never override democratic rights or local decision-making.”
“I fought to defend freedom abroad. I won’t stand by while it’s quietly taken from us at home in the name of green ideology,” he said.
Reform UK, led nationally by Nigel Farage, has pledged to scrap Net Zero by 2050 and replace it with a “pragmatic British energy policy”, focused on affordability, sovereignty, and common sense.
Radford, who now wishes to become an MP for The Wrekin, says he will fight for local referenda on major planning decisions, protection for green belt and agricultural land, and “an end to centralised diktats from Whitehall.”
“People in The Wrekin didn’t ask for solar farms; they are being dropped on them by the government and greedy energy companies,” he said. “This is where Reform UK stands apart. We trust local people to shape their future.”
The campaign is already gaining traction, with petitions circulating and local support swelling.
