14 May 2023
Despite suggestions of a Conservative comeback from some quarters, the Liberal Democrats overwhelmingly confirmed the support of the voting public in this May’s district council elections – with one anomaly.
After narrowly missing out last year by just 21 votes, the Green Party’s Matt Fisher turned that around to take a position in Clarence ward by 448 votes, beating the Liberal Democrats 1,503 to 1,055.
He joins Cllr Simon Grover, who was re-elected to St Peter’s ward, to become only the second Green Party councillor in the district.
Cllr Grover said afterwards: “Matt’s overwhelming victory in Clarence ward was truly stunning in what had traditionally been the Lib Dems safest seat in the district.
“It reflects Matt’s incredible hard work in the ward, and the recognition that it’s not healthy to have all your councillors from a single party.”
The make-up of the district council is now 48 Lib Dem councillors, four Conservatives, two Greens and one independent. There is a vacancy for the seat previously held by Danny Clare, with a by-election scheduled for Tuesday June 13.
The election was gripped with wild rumours on social media designed at undermining the Liberal Democrats’ campaign, something leader Cllr Chris White says makes it even more important that the voting public have given his party their backing.
“With so much mud flying, especially in relation to social media fantasies, it’s sometimes easy to lose track of the fact that there are real issues that real people worry about. We have had to deliver some really tough budgetary decisions and yet got over 50 per cent of the vote.”
The financial crisis which faced SADC earlier this year saw numerous unpopular decisions to balance the books, including hiking parking fees and closing Abbey View Golf Course, but these do not seem to have undermined the Lib Dems’ campaign.
On the doorsteps, although faced with some negative feedback, Cllr White said on the whole this was tempered with a sense of understanding.
“Some were unhappy about rises in fees but most understood that the Government didn’t leave us with a lot of choice.
“There were concerns about local planning applications, although development control is not an issue legally over which the administration can have a lot of control.
“The overwhelming issue was potholes which is of course a matter for the county council, which it will need to get to grips with to avoid changing hands in two years’ time (the writing is already on the wall in these elections).”
The district’s potholes plight was highlighted in a recent edition of the St Albans Times, with no signs of any concerted effort by County Hall to repair the worst areas despite pressure from residents and politicians alike.
To lose even one seat must have been a disappointment though, so what does Cllr White attribute to his candidate’s defeat, and why does he think the Greens succeeded where their rivals all failed?
“The opposition provided by the Conservatives has been feeble. It has been for some years, although over the past year it has moved from shouting insults to silence.
“Labour disintegrated last year, for some reason. So people have worried that we have no opposition. Much as it would be good to imagine the Lib Dems operate as a monolithic voting bloc, the reality is that I get a huge amount of challenge from my own members.
“As for the Greens: very simply they did quite well in one ward when there were all ups last year. That opportunity won’t repeat for 20 years.”
Looking back over the party’s term in office, is there anything he would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight?
“Some appointments to Cabinet or equivalent positions could have been better. Communications certainly need to improve: after all, how is it that some people still believe the market is in terminal decline when it grows week by week?”
SADC’s immediate challenges include a first consultation on the Local Plan, but that isn’t the only issue which needs tackling.
“We need to get to grips with the budget deficit again this year, so more hard choices – something we have to look at now. The capacity in the parking department is inadequate. We have to improve the way the council communicates.”
Having recovered from the election celebrations, newly appointed Green Matt Fisher is preparing to join Simon Grover in the council chamber, something both men are looking forward to.
“We can literally do twice as much for residents and the district,” they told the St Albans Times. “We can sit on more committees, come up with more ideas and respond to more issues. Plus two heads are better than one so we should be even more effective.”
What do they think turned voters’ heads in favour of the Greens this time round?
“We both work really hard in our wards, keeping in touch with residents and responding to requests for help. That’s the main thing that voters look for in local councillors and our residents have recognised what we do.
“There’s also a recognition that it’s not healthy for the council to be so dominated by a single party – it’s not the way to get discussion and good decision-making. We bring much-needed scrutiny to what the Lib Dems are doing.”
They are also appreciative of the fact that there is so little opposition from other parties.
“We are certainly the opposition in the city of St Albans – there are no Labour or Tory councillors here at all so it is all down to us.”
In common with Cllr White, the Greens recognise the importance of finally implementing a Local Plan for the district.
“The lack of an up-to-date Local Plan is of course a huge shadow over the district, and it’s shameful that our council has continually failed to get its act together on this. We will support as fast a timetable as possible on this, whilst making sure the Plan prioritises brownfield developments with high environmental standards.
“The so-called rail freight terminal, and the expansion of Luton Airport, are both huge threats to our transport network amongst other things. Instead of these mega-projects we want to see human-scale transport improvements, from cycle lanes to safer pavements to better buses.”
And finally, which of their own policies are they hoping to implement locally?
“There is a huge opportunity to support low carbon energy, which saves money for the district and for residents, and can even provide an income to support other council services. We were the ones who got solar panels on leisure centres and pushed the council to explore renewable energy on council housing. But there is so much more that could be done – but it needs council support to do it at scale.”
