05 Apr 2026
Pundits are predicting a close-run result for St Peter’s ward in May’s district council elections, with website Pollcheck saying the margin may be too close to call between the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. We speak to the main contenders vying for victory: Sean Hughes and Sally Leonard…
Not content with running three different city centre businesses, pubs campaigner Sean Hughes is making his first foray into the world of local politics.
Sean, one of the founding members of the Save St Albans Pubs initiative, landlord of The Boot and owner of Dylans and Ibéros, has thrown his hat into the ring for the Liberal Democrats.
Local publicans initially formed the Save St Albans Pubs campaign in 2017 to battle for a reduction in business rates, claiming that relief measures introduced by the Conservative Government were insufficient for expensive areas like St Albans.
Almost a decade later and little has changed, despite a succession of Chancellors and Prime Ministers, and more recently a change in the governing party.
The ongoing crisis in the Middle East is set to send energy prices soaring further, catapulting hospitality and retail businesses into further financial strife this summer if they aren’t locked in to lower contracts.
Sean warns: “The way that corporate energy works is still completely broken. It’s not like a household where prices are lower and they reflect different values and they’re protected. It’s all just an open market.
“Contracts can be 12 or 24 or 36 months, so if you’re renewing in a time of crisis, then it’s an absolute disaster.”
But there are some positives to be found, despite the current economic climate: “I think St Albans is faring fairly well, touch wood. People are using the pubs and they’re using the restaurants.
“There’s actually a big commitment from St Albans residents when it comes to their pubs. They’re very protective over them, and we’ve got a great network of landlords and landladies who look after their pubs and embrace the local community.
“With a combination of keeping things of a high quality and standard, as well as attracting people from outside of St Albans, I think we’re doing as well as we possible can and much better than a lot of the rest of the country, but we can never be complacent.”
It’s recognising that none of our independent businesses should rest on their laurels that leads onto a discussion about the St Albans Retailer of the Year Awards, of which Sean is a passionate supporter.
“Local competitions like Retailer of the Year are an essential part of the St Albans big community. They bring all of our businesses together, whether they are high street shops, restaurants, cafés, pubs, in fact literally every category you can imagine, and are also a great opportunity for a bit of networking at the awards ceremony.”
Although Save St Albans Pubs is by its nature apolitical because it needed to appeal across the party divide, Sean is standing as a Lib Dem candidate in May.
However, he is keen that politics shouldn’t get in the way of making things happen.
“I think that as a politician, you need to speak to all sides. The most troublesome thing that’s happened in modern day politics is the lack of communication between different sides of the argument – it seems we’ve lost the ability to debate.”
With the SADC Lib Dem administration facing criticism over the lack of debate in the council chamber, he could have his work cut out for him, especially when it comes to toeing the party line after almost 10 years as an outspoken independent activist.
“I’ve thought about this long and hard. I have to have some discipline in my life and I can’t always be outspoken about things.
“The reason I’ve chosen the Liberal Democrats is because I believe in their politics, their way of government and they way of doing things, so I would hope I wouldn’t have too many disagreements with what they’re doing.
“But I do think that anyone in the council has a responsibility if they don’t think something’s right to say ‘no’.”
Despite having worked with two St Albans MPs with Save St Albans Pubs – Anne Main and Daisy Cooper – and taking the campaign all the way to Parliament, Sean says his interest in local politics can actually be traced back to his childhood.
“I grew up in Hatfield garden village, and we didn’t have a playground at the time, so I campaigned to get one. I think I was about nine or ten at the time. I petitioned local residents and managed to get one approved by Welwyn Hatfield Council, so it actually worked. I think I’ve had a keen interest in politics and local affairs ever since.
“The most interesting thing about the pubs campaign was getting into Parliament and seeing how it all worked, but we’ve been campaigning for reform for 10 years now and we still don’t have it.”
So why take the leap into the electoral arena now?
“There’s a few reasons. The main one was actually my worry for the future of this country, especially after the last year of horrendous right-wing politics. The way people speak to each other now is so abrupt, there’s no understanding, and I just don’t think that’s the country I grew up in, so I’m vehemently passionate about standing up for what we are as a country, and make sure I can do something in the local area that’s more inclusive than divisive.”
The impending Local Government Reorganisation will also see seismic shifts in the way councils operate, so Sean says means it is his last chance before the introduction of unitary authorities and the end of SADC.
“I don’t know how that’s going to be, and it might not be possible for me in terms of the workload, but I can represent this area at the moment, and if I do it, I want to do it really well. I’ve made time in my life to do it properly and hopefully make a difference in the city centre as a whole.
“The beauty of running a pub is that you have all types of people in there, and we have political debates every day. They can get a bit heated sometimes, but at the end of the day there’s generally an understanding that that’s my way of seeing things and that’s yours. That’s what debate’s all about, isn’t it, it’s coming to an understanding of each other’s thoughts.”
Pounding the pavements on the campaign trail has also been an eye-opening experience, he says. “I can’t believe how hard everyone works. I’m in awe of some of the campaign leaders, Lynn Cunningham especially, who organises everyone and makes the best homemade soup. I offered her a job but she’s too busy!
“But it’s just such a big community of people doing so many different things, it’s quite incredible.
“What I’ve also found massively interesting, especially walking around St Peter’s, is that I’ve lived here for 24 years and I still haven’t seen every single part of this area – all the flats, all the yards – it’s been fascinating.
“It’s also been really nice getting to know different people. Of those I’ve spoken to, I would say at least 40 per cent have moved into the area within the last year, from London, from different countries, and so it has been really great getting to say ‘Welcome to St Peter’s’.”
Presumably this means he hasn’t been able to trade on his ‘brand recognition’ as a local businessman.
“I don’t really like talking about that. I think in my campaign leaflet all it says is that I run a business in town. So I wouldn’t go up to people and say, ‘Hi, I run a pub’, because they’d think I’m nuts! But some people recognise me and some people don’t.
“It’s actually just quite nice to have a conversation with people, and the vast majority are really quite pleasant.”
Sally Leonard, the Green Party candidate for St Peter’s, casts a cursory eye over her cheese and pickle toastie: “I’m worried that the pickle’s going to be hotter than the sun.”
Accompanied by her youngest daughter, we’re catching up over lunch at The Verulam in Lower Dagnall Street, primarily to discuss her campaign in the forthcoming district council elections, but with frequent asides to consider such topics as Skyswood School’s prowess on the hockey field, the use of a wooden spoon in leafleting, and rating Hero Academia characters on their style and fashion sense.
All pink hair and piercings, wearing a Stranger Things hoody and polka dot trousers, Sally’s own sense of style arguably has its advantages in campaigning.
“There’re definitely people who say, ‘Wasn’t there a picture of her through my front door recently?’ The fringe helps with identification, I have an unfair colour advantage [over other candidates] in that I’m easier to spot and recognise!”
With her mother Frances a former Mayor and district councillor, albeit for the Conservatives, politics has always played a part in Sally’s life.
“It was by default really. I remember on polling day the telling happening in the front room. There were always people around and there was always politics going on, so it was just sort of natural for me.”
The former Skyswood and Sandringham pupil grew up in Marshalswick before moving to London, getting married and starting a family. She returned to St Albans in 2012, and a year later joined the Greens after local leader Cllr Simon Grover knocked on her door.
Although she has stood in previous elections, most years this was just as a paper candidate to represent the party in wards where they were unlikely to win. Then in 2025 she stood in the same ward as her mum – a story initially run by the St Albans Times which subsequently made the national press – raising her profile to new heights and prompting her to stand somewhere she might actually have a chance, her home ward of St Peter’s.
“I was like, oh, OK, I’ve been sitting on the sidelines for, what, 13 years, maybe I should actually do it this time.
“It’s between us and the Lib Dems, and actually broadly we’re quite aligned, but we just need a little bit of accountability. We just want people to have a bit more say.
“I think St Peter’s is great. You’ve got people with different experiences, backgrounds, opinions and income levels and then all of the trade and commerce and a lot of the old history in there as well. You go down one street and there’s a Porsche, then an old Mini, then a bike, a Volvo and then an electric car – it’s just great.
“I love wandering up to the market, mooching around, seeing people and just sticking my nose into various things.
“I’m super-partial to Lussmanns, it’s always really good food and I love the building. It’s proper ‘80s madness, and wonderful bit of architecture. I’m partial to a cheeky little pizza in The Beech House, I might sneak in a cocktail at the Saint and Sinner and go on the shuffleboard, we like the burgers in Hatch…
“I’ve spent most of my life here. I’ve been here a long, long, time, and I’ve seen a lot of changes. Some good, some bad, but it’s always had a good energy.”
The issues she’s encountered on doorsteps include much of what you would expect: the high street, potholes, petty crime, er, dog poo…
“Those are the main things, but also accountability and just wanting to bring some balance. I don’t think that the Lib Dems have any ill intent, you know, but if it’s all one way, then you are never going to get a fully balanced picture. You have to have some opposition so things can be scrutinised and everybody’s voice can be heard, and I think that’s really important.
“Leafleting has been really good and the wooden spoon has become my best friend. One of the things I encourage everyone to do is try and post something through their own letterbox to see how easy it is – I feel for posties because some of them are really hard. What we do now is use a wooden spoon to hold them open. Although I have lost a few of those.”
Quite a random thing to discover on your doormat… If it’s happened to you, now you know why.
After Sally studied jewellery design at St Martin’s College, she found there was a distinct lack of business support available when she graduated, which resulted in her taking various trade courses before setting up her company Leonard of London, making ethical fine jewellery.
She approached the Islington Enterprise Agency for advice, obtained some grants and learned more about business, leading to her second line of work as a management consultant, primarily for the jewellery industry, but also for various other businesses.
“I go in and help them with their pricing, marketing, market positioning, their website, socials, production. I still do the jewellery, but also consultancy through Centa (Camden’s enterprise agency) and my own business. So I am very busy.”
And now she’s throwing politics into the mix as well?
“Well you know what they say, if you need something done, ask a busy person!
“Locally I really want to help get young people into enterprise, and help those businesses that are already here to thrive. Are there any mechanisms that we can leverage here that will help people and help the local community? I’m keen to help my neurodiverse community access stuff as well.”
The past few months have seen a groundswell of support for the Greens, both locally and nationally, kickstarted by the election of Zack Polanski as leader, and carried on with the party’s decisive victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
“Since Gorton and Denton we’ve had days where people have been honking their horns and leaning out of their windows to ask for flyers, it’s crazy.
“Once people realise we’re not going to, I don’t know, force everyone to become vegan, but that we’re actually really hard-working because there’s not as many of us, I think people feel a lot more comfortable voting Green.
“When you’re knocking on doors, there’s always a conflation of local and national politics, but that’s what makes it so interesting. You might align with Daisy [Cooper MP] nationally, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to locally.
“We’re seeing the Polanski effect locally as well. Our membership is massive now, which is really good. I used to have meetings where it was nearly three people in a cupboard, but now there might be 20-30 at meetings, and when you’re canvassing it can be as many as 20 people out there, which makes it much more social and exclusive.
“At our last meeting in Harpenden, what was exciting was just how positive, enlightened, invigorated and supportive it all felt. It’s just wonderful to see a group of people coming together. We’re still very much a small party that’s learning how to grow, from 60 to 500 members in seven months is amazing.
“I feel so much more positive knowing it’s not just me raging against the dying of the light, there’s a whole bunch of people being proactive.”
Many of these new recruits are young people like Livvy Gibbs, who is standing in neighbouring Clarence ward: “We need more young people getting involved, because ultimately everything affects them.
“I think the political landscape’s very different now – young people are in a better position to get involved, because they can educate themselves online and join communities of like-minded people. I think they’re just sick of the status quo, so I think it’s really important that we do everything we can to engage and include them and let them have a say in what’s happening.”
She’s a strong advocate for political activism of any colour: “It doesn’t have to be joining us. Join the Lib Dems or Labour or whatever. Just get a little bit involved. Take a little bit of that power and autonomy back. Even if it’s just turning up to an event or popping a couple of leaflets through a door.
“If you don’t get involved, it all just feels so much more intense and overbearing.”
With just a month to go until May’s elections, campaigning will be intensifying over the coming weeks, as parties of all colours throw themselves into the fight for St Peter’s, so what’s the reaction been from residents she’s spoken to? “There’s always going to be people who don’t really agree with you or are undecided, but most are willing to have that conversation. It’s just been a really positive experience actually going out and talking to people and explaining that there’s an alternative way to disrupt the system that can hopefully do some good. Because it’s either that or a future I don’t really want to think about.”
