17 May 2026
In the run-up to the elections, all eyes were firmly focused on the two St Albans seats being fiercely contested by the Liberal Democrats and the Greens – Clarence and St Peter’s.
But despite their efforts, Green candidates Livvy Gibbs and Sally Leonard were unable to turnaround the Lib Dem majorities in both wards, resulting in the re-election of Josie Madoc and the new appointment of local businessman Sean Hughes.
Sean, one of the founding members of the Save St Albans Pubs initiative, landlord of The Boot and owner of Dylans and Ibéros, has now added politics to his portfolio of activities.
We caught up with him over the weekend after the elections to discuss his victory.
“What a fantastic result! During the campaign I always thought it was a close race and fought very hard to knock on thousands of doors and meet as many people in the ward as I possibly could.”
That translated into a walking average of 18km per day over the past four months, and shedding 5kg in weight.
“I will be walking the ward today so that I don’t seize up!” he laughed.
“We put everything into winning the seat to ensure we have a strong voice in St Peter’s Ward. I was obviously thrilled with the result. For me it proves that people want a hardworking Liberal Democrat councillor representing them in this ward and I intend to be just that.
“I have a lot of respect for Sally and know how hard it was campaigning on a daily basis so I hope she is resting up and enjoying her weekend.”
He’s actually already started work on his key priorities in the role: “I had a 100 day plan ready to go before the results in case I was elected and I have already started that today as the first day of being a councillor.
“Emails are heading out to residents associations – in fact I have my first residents’ association meeting booked this Tuesday.
“My biggest priority is to work with residents on anti-social behaviour which I have picked up whilst canvassing. Certain hotspots of crime within our ward need tackling and I have emailed the police today to get a meeting with our neighbourhood police team ASAP. I have also emailed to say that I will be attending the Police Priority Setting Forum on Tuesday week.
“I have induction meetings this week at the council and will shortly have my council email. I will also be setting up a meeting with Juliet Voisey and Simon Grover as fellow ward councillors so that we can work together on issues facing the ward.
“This weekend I am also working on a handover with Jacqui Taylor who I have replaced. Can I also thank Jacqui for her incredible hard work at the council for the past eight years.”
How on Earth is he going to fit it all in alongside running his businesses?
“I have a superb team at my businesses and a superb team as a Liberal Democrat so when one side gets busy I can rely on either team for support. I have time set aside for my work as a councillor. Unlike some social media comments I have seen today suggesting we do nothing as Liberal Democrats I can assure you the current councillors work incredibly hard and I intend to work very hard for the residents of St Peter’s and with the businesses to ensure our high street continues to be something we can all be proud of.
“My work campaigning for business rates reform and protecting our pubs will continue as normal.”
He added: “I would like to thank the residents of St Peter’s for talking to me at the doors over the past few months and for coming out for the vote. We had high turnout numbers this year and I am grateful for every single vote. I would like to thank all of the amazing volunteers that have given up their time to canvass with me and deliver. I’d also like to thank the incredible team at the St Albans Lib Dems office and fellow councillors and to Daisy Cooper for walking the ward with me across the the campaign and for being an exceptional example of how to be an MP.”
