07 Oct 2023
The political landscape is witnessing a huge upheaval in parts of the district, with the end of the old constituency of Hitchin and Harpenden and the creation of a new seat incorporating Berkhamsted and Tring.
Conservative MP Bim Afolami has fled to the safer environs of Hitchin, perhaps reluctant to stake his future on a patch which saw the Liberal Democrats seize control of Harpenden Town Council in 2022 after years of Tory dominance.
Now the battle lines are being drawn for the next General Election – which could come as soon as next year – with Harpenden and Berkhamsted potentially a swingometer seat to gauge the mood of the nation as a whole.
Former journalist, businessman and political advisor Nigel Gardner has recently thrown his hat into the ring on behalf of the Conservatives, but the Lib Dems actually announced their candidate way back in April.
Entrepreneur and environmental campaigner Victoria Collins has spent the last few months entrenching herself in the eastern side of the new constituency, having lived in Berkhamsted for several years.
“I’ve known this area for several years through friends and family, I’ve got friends from Wheathampstead, from Redbourn, and it’s just an area that I really love.”
We were catching up the day after she returned from this year’s Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth, and took a stroll around Rothamsted Park in rather unexpectedly high winds to chat through her key policy platforms and hopes for election.
Victoria grew up helping her mother on the shop floor of their gift shop, and was inspired by her father’s work in sustainable housing, going on to advise international blue chip companies on sustainable change after a masters specialising in economic policy with energy and environment at SciencesPo in Paris.
“The main thing I’ve been doing as a candidate is throwing myself into all the issues that matter. Going to events like meetings of the Harpenden Society, getting in touch with Rothamsted Enterprises, doing research to find out what’s going on here in Harpenden and the surrounding villages and making sure that I’m speaking to as many people as possible.
“It’s a very big constituency. It goes all the way from Jersey Farm and Sandridge to Tring and Long Marston, so I’m making sure I’m balancing my time across the area. I was at the count when the Liberal Democrats took control of Harpenden Town Council for the first time in its history, and it was really emotional for our councillors, they were just so elated and shocked, and I’m working closely with them as well.
“We’re one big team, but it’s a lot of work to be a candidate who is going to represent the whole area and that’s what I’m trying to do.
“People are after a local champion who stands up for them and that’s just what I’ve been doing, because I care and I want to be that advocate for issues people care about. At the end of the day it will be the people who decide, but it’s very telling that none of the neighbouring Conservative MPs are standing in this seat.”
Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning will not be seeking re-election at the next General Election, Gagan Mohindra is fighting the South West Herts seat, and Bim Afolami is standing in Hitchin.
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges Victoria will face is responding to the proposed development the area faces in the draft St Albans Local Plan, which has been prepared by the Lib Dem administration at SADC, potentially putting her at odds with her own party.
She said the issue is not with the district council: “Actually it’s the national planning system that’s broken. There’s this feeling that Michael Gove is trying to run every single planning department, and local councils and communities don’t have the power that they should have.
“At [this year’s Liberal Democrat] conference, we’ve come out with policies to make it even easier to build on brownfield sites, as currently a lot of developers are land banking which should not be possible so they either need to use it or lose it. We’re empowering local authorities to actually build what is right for them.
“So the only reason our Local Plan is currently in the form it is and has that 15,000 [new homes target] is because it’s a centralised target that’s been pushed down whereas actually we’ve been very clear about fixing that broken system and empowering local authorities to build what’s right for them. Which means the right houses, because people need those, but also the right places.”
Victoria, who aims to be the first Liberal Democrat MP of east and south-east Asian origin, is also fighting to protect the rare chalk streams found in this part of the country – specifically the Rivers Lea and Ver, as she explains: “It’s not just important to me, it’s important to so many people.
“I’ve had a local Scout leader saying he’s got to check for sewage whenever he takes Scouts out on the river – that’s just not right.
“I’m standing up for families who want to play in the rivers – as it’s just not normal that we have so little clean water where you can go with your children at the weekend – and also for those people who just care about looking after our environment.
“There are so many other problems with our environment that need dealing with, but focusing on this issue of sewage in our chalk streams is a really visual, visceral example of how the Conservatives have let us down and is another example of the fact that our public services have just not been managed properly. We need to fix that.”
The last week saw Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announce a weakening of key net zero policies, including pushing back the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK from 2030 to 2035 and delaying the target for eliminating the sale of gas boilers to homes, a strategy Victoria condemned.
“There so many people horrified because we’re turning back on our planet, which is also our future, but also the air we breathe, the spaces we have. People living in Harpenden and the villages love the local environment here, and that’s what I’m looking after.
“So many businesses are ready to invest in a green, sustainable future and be part of the solution but they need guidance and stability and the government isn’t providing either.”
She is conscious of striking a balance between moving forwards towards net zero while protecting those people who may be struggling from extra costs for driving, with a move towards creating transport systems suitable for the 21st century.
“I spoke to a single mother on Harpenden High Street who said she’d got rid of her car to do what was right, but she just couldn’t get about in life without a car. That’s not right, we should actually be supporting public transport and not cutting it back.
“In terms of the cost of living we’ve been very clear about helping and supporting consumers whether they’re rail passengers or people paying for their energy bills. Renewable energy is cheaper and if we had invested in renewables properly, if we’d have insulated homes when we wanted to, imagine the reduction in costs that people would have for their energy.”
It’s impossible to mention environmental issues without touching on the issue of the expansion of London Luton Airport.
“The Climate Change Committee came out clearly and said we should stop all airport expansion until we have a proper framework to manage capacity and measure the carbon emissions from airport expansions across England.
“But there’s also the noise, air pollution and the impact on infrastructure. We’ve already got terrible pollution on our high streets from all the cars coming in. So I think we should stop the expansion and really rethink it as a national strategy.”
Another of her main policies is supporting local businesses, something which seems all the more crucial when walking around Harpenden and seeing the many empty shops which exist now, some of which were once family-run retailers driven out by rent increases imposed by absent landlords: “I grew up helping my mum on the shop floor on a market town high street, so I know what it’s like, I know the daily grind of running those shops, I know the impact it has on family life, so it really is something that’s very important to me.”
“At conference we’ve come out with new policies including reforming business rates, but I also think we need to look at public transport and getting people into our local towns in a way that is sustainable, active travel to our local spaces, and working with Harpenden Town Council, Redbourn Parish Council etc to get that right. As a candidate and someone who wants to be a voice for this area, I want to be an advocate for those local businesses, I think that counts for a lot.”
Helping constituents with the cost of living crisis goes hand-in-hand with supporting the local economy: “I went to the food bank in Redbourn to talk about the issue, and they were saying how they’ve got more and more in-work people who are having massive problems, who feel a huge stigma having to go to a food bank.
“They’ve had police officers coming in and asking them to support some of their members of staff? So we’re talking about our public service workers who cannot make ends meet and are coming in for support. It’s just wrong”
Her final key policy is reducing emergency service response times. The national standard set for ambulance trusts when responding to Category 1 calls – namely strokes, heart attacks and other life-threatening injuries – is seven minutes on average and 90% of calls in 15 minutes.
She revealed: “The average response time here is two hours, which beggars belief. So we’ve been very clear about actually finding pragmatic solutions and working with experts to find the solutions, including higher recruitment and retention alongside more investment into social care.
“A lot of people are also concerned about GP waiting times. They just cannot get a doctor’s appointment. Others can’t get even registered for dentists. It’s about empowering communities to get the infrastructure needed before we start building any new developments.”
Our circular meander through Rothamsted has brought us back to where we started, the café in the heart of the research centre, with keen rambler Victoria having just enough time left to explain why she thinks she deserves the local vote.
“People across Harpenden and Berkhamstead are crying out for a local champion who is actually going to stand up for this area and local people, particularly here in Harpenden where they felt current MP Bim Afolami has let them down.
“They want to see a better vision for this country, and we’ve come out with a real vision for fairness, whether it’s our health service, whether it’s our economy, or whether it’s looking after our public services properly and regulating them properly.
“So, if they want to vote Lib Dem, they’ve got a hard worker who’s been out non-stop for days, who’s campaigned about key issues, whether it’s our environment, our businesses, our healthcare, or whether it’s speaking up on and fixing our relationship with Europe, and then is out there campaigning again, standing up for local people and trying to make a difference.”
