Shengke Zhi: Winning in Trafford. How we turned a 21-vote majority into almost 1,200 in two years

Dr Shengke Zhi is a Conservative councillor for Bowdon Ward in Trafford Council and Shadow Executive Member for Climate Change. Professionally, he is a senior nuclear and energy leader with expertise spanning nuclear, hydrogen and carbon capture. 

In 2024, Bowdon was hanging by a thread. We held the ward by 21 votes.

For many activists, that number will feel painfully familiar. Across the country, Conservatives have watched once-comfortable wards become battlegrounds. Areas once considered safe suddenly required defence. New challengers emerged. Political assumptions changed.

Bowdon was no exception.

The Greens had become increasingly active and ambitious. Reform was emerging. Local politics was changing.

After 2024, we had two choices. We could treat the result as a narrow escape and wait for the next election. Or we could treat it as a warning and rebuild. We chose the latter.

Fast forward to 2026. The result was:

• Conservative: 2,616 votes (54.3%)
• Green: 1,424
• Reform: 445

A majority of almost 1,200 votes.

Bowdon delivered the highest turnout in Trafford and, to my knowledge, the strongest Conservative result across Greater Manchester’s ten borough councils.

The obvious question is: how?

The answer, I believe, carries wider lessons for the Party.

Lesson one: Campaigning is not an event – it is a permanent activity

Too many campaigns begin six months before polling day. Winning campaigns begin the morning after the count. The period between 2024 and 2026 was not spent waiting for the next election. It was spent campaigning: Resident engagement, Casework, School visits, Community events, Social media, Door knocking, Listening and Trust building.

One of the defining campaigns was road safety around Oldfield Brow Primary School. Parents and teachers raised concerns. We worked with them and launched a petition, collecting 568 signatures. The issue reached Trafford Council in March 2024. Teachers, parents and pupils attended the meeting and spoke directly. Eventually improvements were delivered. The lesson was simple: Residents notice delivery. Politics often becomes absorbed by national narratives, but local politics still rewards action. People remember who stands with them.

We also worked closely with local schools through initiatives such as the Christmas Card Design Competition with Oldfield Brow Primary School. At first glance, this may not look like campaigning. I would argue it absolutely is. Schools sit at the heart of communities. Strong relationships create trust. Trust creates credibility. Politics starts long before elections.

Lesson two: Listen first, campaign second

In September 2025, Trafford Council launched consultation on the Local Plan. Residents in Oldfield Brow became deeply concerned when a proposed traveller and gypsy site emerged locally. People felt anxious. Many residents told us very clearly that they did not support the proposal and did not want it in their community. As local Conservatives, we listened.

The same happened repeatedly around school places, where families raised concerns regarding future capacity and local provision.

The lesson here goes beyond Bowdon. Politics increasingly rewards those who broadcast. Successful local campaigning rewards those who listen. Communities do not want to be told what they should think. They want representatives who understand what they do think. That distinction matters.

Lesson three: Winning requires strategy, not simply effort

Hard work alone is not enough and campaigns need strategy. Between 2024 and 2026, the political environment changed rapidly. The Greens expanded their activity, while Reform emerged. Voter behaviour shifted, so standing still would have meant decline.

A huge amount of credit goes to Zoe Peters, our Vice Chair Political in Bowdon Conservative Committee. Zoe helped drive campaign strategy throughout this period, ensuring we remained agile and adapted to changing conditions.

Good campaigns evolve, they reassess, they refine and they adapt. Conservatives will not recover nationally by repeating yesterday’s campaigns. We must be willing to evolve.

Lesson four: Strong organisations still matter

Candidates do not win elections. Teams do. One of the Conservative Party’s greatest assets remains its grassroots structure. I particularly want to recognise Christine Mitchell, Chair of the Bowdon Conservative Committee. Christine coordinated huge amounts of work behind the scenes: fundraising, mobilising resources, volunteer coordination, campaign organisation, stuffing envelopes and keeping operations moving. Most of this work never appears publicly. But without it campaigns fail.

I also want to recognise Alison Kitchman, Vice Chair Membership. Alison brought energy, persistence and volunteer leadership throughout the campaign. I still remember moments when daylight was fading, everyone was tired and people were considering stopping. Then Alison would ask: “Can we squeeze in one more street before it gets dark?”

Usually the answer was yes. That sentence probably won more votes than any national slogan, because elections are rarely won in grand moments but they are won street by street, conversation by conversation and volunteer by volunteer.

Lesson five: Modern campaigns require modern communication

Although campaigning has changed, leaflets still matter and door knocking still matters. However, they are no longer enough. Residents increasingly expect visibility between elections: updates, community stories and evidence of delivery etc. We therefore invested heavily in social media throughout the campaign period, including road safety updates, school engagement, community campaigns, local issues, achievements and delivery.

Social media amplified local engagement and helped demonstrate action between elections. Modern campaigning does not end when the leaflet goes through the door.

Final reflection: From survival to growth

The campaign was not easy. There were long evenings, rain arriving just before canvassing, fatigue and pressure, even moments of doubt. But there was also belief: belief in Bowdon, belief in our residents and belief that local Conservatism still works.

The journey from 21 votes in 2024 to almost 1,200 in 2026 convinced me of something important: Conservative recovery is possible.

But it will not come from waiting for Westminster. It will come from councillors, ward committees, associations, volunteers, community campaigns, listening, delivery, trust and people standing with residents. People asking “Can we do one more street?”

That was the recipe in Bowdon. It may also be part of the recipe for Conservative renewal.