The council was created in 1889 as Salop County Council, and was the upper tier of government in the two-tier metropolitan county between 1974 and 2009.
On 1 April 2009, as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, Shropshire's districts were abolished and the county council took over their functions.
[2] The Telford and Wrekin district had already become a separate unitary authority in 1998.
[3] Since 1974, political control of the council has been held by the following parties:[4][5][6] Non-metropolitan county Unitary authority The leaders of the council since 2009 have been:[7] By-elections for individual seats can occur during a council's four-year term, for instance when a councillor dies or resigns their seat.
Five by-elections were held during this term, which saw the Liberal Democrats gain three seats from the Conservatives.