08 Feb 2025
In a break from tradition, the incumbent Deputy Mayor for Harpenden faced a challenge to succeed in the top role.
The recent meeting of the town council was expected to see an uncontested handover from current Mayor Pip Liver to her Deputy Gill Haynes.
But in a surprising turn of events, fellow councillor Beth Fisher threw her hat into the ring, and was elected 7-5 by the 12 voting councillors present, with Kirsti Wenn becoming Deputy Mayor.
Both Beth and Kirsti have opposed the district council’s planned introduction of on-street car parking charges, a contentious issue which has divided Lib Dems on the town council and resulted in Beth’s resignation from the district council last year.
Beth said after the vote: “I am delighted to have been elected to the role. I hope to represent Harpenden and work in a cohesive and collaborative way with our colleagues across the district and surrounding areas. It really is an honour for people to put their faith in me.
“I am looking forward to continuing to work with all town councillors to achieve the best outcome on all local issues affecting Harpenden.
“I have a huge amount of respect for Cllr Haynes who works hard in her roles in both councils. Cllr Liver and Cllr Haynes should be thanked.”
Gill added: “I have and am still very much enjoying the privilege of being Harpenden’s Deputy Mayor. It is a civic role which has enabled me to meet with a range of groups, organisations and individuals in Harpenden to hear about their activities and aspirations and also to thank them for their contributions. Conventions are just that, they are not set in stone. I have never seen the role of Deputy Mayor as a rite of passage to becoming Mayor.
“Concerning my support for SADC’s proposals to charge for on-street parking in Harpenden, here are the facts: I have in fact argued in favour of one hour’s free on-street parking, most recently in my capacity as a district councillor, in a statement at the meeting of Public realm committee at SADC on Tuesday November 12.
“In my role as a town councillor, I have also voted in favour of statements from HTC to SADC objecting to the proposals to charge and offering alternative options to try to achieve a better solution for Harpenden ( most recently, HTC’s meeting of September 23).”
