12 Apr 2024
It’s arguably the most important position in local politics, but what is the process for selecting the next leader of St Albans district council?
As exclusively revealed by the St Albans Times, Cllr Chris White will be stepping down not only from the role, but also as a district councillor, at the start of May.
But much as we have seen with Boris Johnson’s successors as Prime Minister, the person who takes over as SADC leader is not publicly elected to the position. So what happens?
At 9am on May 6 Chris White ceases to be a councillor and therefore leader, with Cllr Helen Campbell taking over as acting leader for the interim ahead of the full annual council meeting on May 22.
In the meantime there will be a balloted contest for a new Liberal Democrat group leader – and providing the party maintained its majority in the district council elections of May 2, a role which is also the leader of the council.
Potential candidates will include who is a member of the Liberal Democrat group after May 2. They need a proposer and a seconder, but nothing more. Nominations will probably close on May 8.
The exact details of the process will depend on how many councillors stand for the post and the duration of the ballot, but the decision will be made electronically and probably by May 10, with the deputy group leader elected at the same time.
What follows at the annual council meeting will effectively be a rubber-stamping of the successful candidates as council leader and deputy council leader.
So who might be in the running for the leadership role? Over the past year, Cllr White created a tier of three “lieutenants” to support him as leader, all of whom are ideally placed to succeed him.
Bernards Heath councillor Helen Campbell is currently deputy council leader. A mother of two, she has lived in St Albans for 20 years. A self-employed journalist and writer, she trained as an English teacher and volunteers extensively in the community, particularly with homeless people. She works closely with community groups to safeguard green spaces, and additionally focuses on vulnerable people, road safety and the environment.
Harpenden East councillor Paul de Kort has lived in the town for 28 years, raised his children there, and was a long-standing head of sixth form at Beaumont School in St Albans.
He says his primary goal is to work for an effective integrated Local Plan that includes education, the local economy and sustainable transport. He works to ensure that the district council speaks for – and listens to – all of the diverse interests that make up the town of Harpenden.
Cllr Jacqui Taylor, who represents St Peter’s ward, has been looking after residents’ housing issues since 2018, leading the charge for more social housing in the district.
And what about the departing Cllr White, will he have any say over his successor? “I equally don’t and won’t have any influence,” he confirmed, dismissing any suggestions he will adopt the role of kingmaker over the coming weeks.
Because the Lib Dem leadership roles will be determined by those group members who are in situ after the May election, none of the councillors wanted to speculate who might be chosen by a body whose composition the electorate will not decide until May 2.
Cllr de Kort said: “I am confident that [the leader’s] role and the other key members of the leadership team can be filled by councillors who have already demonstrated their ability to manage their way through the choppy waters of the many pressures on local government that we have experienced just in my time as a district and county councillor.”
Cllr Campbell concurred: “The Lib Dem group will elect its leadership once the make-up of the new group is known after May 2.
“As we never take anything for granted in elections, it would be wrong to speculate in advance what the shape of the new group could be or who might fill the leader role, or indeed any of the other leadership positions.
“We have a strong and dedicated group of people and I am confident the group will have strong and dedicated leadership to continue to take the council forward.”
Cllr Taylor would not confirm whether she was planning to stand for the leadership position: “This isn’t something I’ve made a decision about either way as there still a number of unknowns and things to consider, not least the outcome of the elections where nothing can be taken for granted.
“I have got five years’ experience leading on housing and there is still much to do that I’m passionate about delivering for residents.
“Nationally housing has been neglected for too long and whilst it was always going to take some time to turn things round, we have made good strides here, not least successfully bidding for over £10 million of government grants to insulate and install solar panels on our council homes to make them warmer and keep energy bills down.”
But she was confident of a strong successor to Cllr White: “There are a number of people who would be very capable but I tend to think more about what skills and experience would be most needed and see how that falls into place with who may both want and have the capacity to take on the role. Seeing what is the best role in the team that I and others can play is what’s most important to me.”
Whoever ends up taking on the position has plenty of challenges to overcome in the next few months, as Cllr Taylor highlighted: “Being sound on financial matters and the capability to navigate delivering a new Local Plan are the two biggest things to my mind for the new leader. There are also some service issues to deal with, parking springs to mind, and improving communication, all on a tight budget and limited resource but we have a strong and experienced bunch of councillors to form a leadership team and share these challenges and responsibilities, it’s not all about the leader!”
