28 Mar 2024
After approximately 16 years in district politics, council leader Cllr Chris White is stepping down ahead of May’s elections.
Although he will remain a county councillor for the remainder of his tenure, Cllr White will not be standing for re-election as district councillor for Clarence ward.
He told the St Albans Times he has been mulling over the decision for some time, but it was compounded by a period of ill health earlier this year, when he was laid up with a respiratory condition.
Unable to perform his duties as leader, Chris was forced to delegate responsibilities to his three “lieutenants”: Cllrs Jacqui Taylor, Paul de Kort and Helen Campbell.
“It’s been in my head for a while. But then again, this sort of thing is always in your head for a while, isn’t it? I think the illness that began back in October underlined the fact that stepping down and moving on was wise anyway.
“Had I done this as an exercise it would have been absolutely brilliant. People would be writing textbooks about this marvellous man who pretended to be ill for a couple of months, allowed them to find their strengths and weaknesses so it was apparent that the council ran without me, amazingly enough.
“The Local Government Association also said I need to think about succession planning. Everyone knows who you are, which is really good, but you’re not immortal.”
Before a new leader is appointed by local Liberal Democrats, his previous responsibilities on various committees and organisations will be shared out between his lieutenants, ensuring continuity over the coming weeks.
A former chartered accountant, Chris has been active in district politics since 1998, becoming leader of SADC in 2019, and cites making St Albans more outgoing as one of his major achievements in this period.
“There was a long period amongst all administrations where St St Albans regarded itself as a special case, which is really unhelpful in dealing with things like the Local Plan, neighbouring authorities and the county council, and we are now a player in Hertfordshire like everybody else, but also a quite significant player actually, which is really good, and that cultural change was important.”
Although a Local Plan is still a long way off being finalised, he is proud that the current draft is closer to being legally acceptable than at any point in the last few decades.
“The one we inherited, and I rather hoped we might be able to get through, had no chance because it was playing politics with the Secretary of State. So having one which is more likely to get through and indeed more up to date on climate issues is an achievement.”
The financial pressures faced by all local authorities have also proved challenging, but he stresses that while SADC has not been forced to implement “horrible” policies like closing all museums, the situation keeps on getting worse.
“Good luck to the people who follow me in trying to keep their heads above water. Over the last five years we’ve had Covid and then the cost of living crisis. Sometimes I’ve thought that a nice quiet year would be nice, where things go forwards not backwards.
“I don’t want to imply that it’s not possible to survive these things, although I’m not guaranteeing that a new government will suddenly lead to lots of money. I think what it will lead to is perverse decisions no longer being made – one of the biggest stresses we’ve all had is with the Local Plan where ministers say ‘you don’t have to build on the Green Belt’ and then they read the regs and say ‘yes you do’.”
And regrets? “I’ve had a few,” he admitted, quoting Sinatra.
“It’s always difficult finding the right people to do the jobs, and in some cases I don’t think I did, not necessarily having the strongest people where they needed to be.
“I regret not being able to do more because of lack of money in terms of redeveloping Fleetville Community Centre, not been able to move forward with a full-blown cultural strategy at this stage, and minor things like increasing charges, although not where someone was getting an unfair subsidy, and there have been a few of those we’ve uncovered.
“In terms of further regrets, I think there was a lot to reform and we still haven’t got there yet.”
Can he single out a standout hero of his tenure, someone who has always had his back?
“Oh my goodness, that’s a massively unfair question, but then again, that’s what you’re for.
“Well, I mean, it sounds cheesy, but Daisy [Cooper MP for St Albans] is massively, personally supportive, has great wisdom and also at times is there for a drink when you need one. Helen Campbell has been vital, Paul de Kort has been vital, not least because of his financial brain, Jacqui Taylor’s astonishing knowledge of housing and attention to detail. Those three, but there are many others. I won’t give you the villains. We haven’t got enough time!”
He is planning to spend his free time visiting his granddaughter in south London, attending the Hay Festival properly instead of squeezing it in, taking longer holidays and continuing with his county council activities and Highways casework.
“It’s quite a full life anyway!” he joked.
So what advice would be give his eventual successor: “Time management. I don’t do seven day weeks, but I do six days, and even then I have phone calls at noon on a Sunday or texts at a quarter to two in the morning.
“There is a danger of people just picking up the phone at any time and I just don’t tolerate it. You’re not a blue light service.
“The second piece of advice is to keep away from social media!”
