16 Aug 2026
If there’s one thing that’s hard to overlook when it comes to Harpenden MP Victoria Collins, and that’s what seems to be her boundless sense of optimism.
She’s a far cry from many of the cynical old politicians you see propping up the back benches at Westminster, and maybe that’s because she’s only been in Parliament a couple of years, or maybe that’s just who she is?
“I’m not sure I could do my job if I didn’t have that hope that we could change something. What would be the point?”
We’re catching up in her Harpenden constituency office in Coldharbour Lane, various fans desperately trying to cut through the oppressive heat of the building, and reflecting on what’s been happening both locally and on the national stage.
“What I’ve learnt in the last two years is how fascinating change is, and even though it often feels as you’re the only one banging at the table and saying, ‘Hang on, something has to be done here,’ suddenly there’s this massive tipping point and everything changes. So I have a hope in that magic of change.”
But even Victoria can’t hide the uncertainty she is feeling about the new Burnham Government, coming as it has without any scrutiny by her fellow MPs, and just before the onset of the summer recess.
“As a country, I think we were so disillusioned with the last few Governments, that we sleepwalked into the fact that Andy Burnham was to be the next Prime Minister. As soon as the Mayfield by-election happened and Keir Starmer stood down, all we started talking about was when Andy Burnham would take over.
“But it was only four weeks and four days after he was elected that he became Prime Minister, and he hadn’t been an MP for 10 years before that. A lot has changed in 10 years, and I can see he’s done some great work in Manchester, but none of us have been able to scrutinise him on national issues as an MP.
“There was no leadership contest, and we weren’t able to see his ideas until he announced them. There’s now no parliamentary scrutiny because he became Prime Minister just as we all went into summer recess.
“This means actually a lot of what we’re doing is guesswork based on what he’s announced before or what he has said he would like to do. Usually when a statement is made, you can scrutinise and question it, and then you have a whole machinery of people analysing the results, asking how it’s going to be paid for, looking at the impact it’s going to have.
“When that’s missing it’s quite worrying. We haven’t been able to scrutinise Andy Burnham at all, and even after he announced his new Government and new Cabinet ministers, we couldn’t scrutinise them properly either as the machinery is not there.”
The situation is arguably unprecedented. When else has a politician walked into Parliament following his election and taken over the top job in Government?
However, one thing she has welcomed is his proposal for cross-party talks on social care, an issue which has been at the forefront of her agenda since the General Election campaign.
“My very first question in Parliament was actually about cross-party talks on social care, so that’s great. I think constructive opposition is not just about what’s going wrong, it’s also about putting forward ideas, and although I think Andy believes in social care reform, we’ve been banging the drum about it for a long time.”
Another of her key platforms has been a call for business rates reform in order to better support the struggling hospitality industry, and although Burnham has announced a 20 per cent reduction for pubs, clubs and live music venues, this is the tip of the iceberg compared to what they are paying on VAT.
Victoria is still campaigning for further reform, a cut on the 20 per cent VAT which hospitality businesses are currently burdened with, but also support with staffing costs.
“I went to visit the Elephant and Castle [in Amwell, near Wheathampstead], which has recently reopened under a new landlord. Now this is in part a passion project, but there’s also a business case, and it’s a very difficult one because of staff costs.
“These are a big barrier for hospitality because of the minimum wage and National Insurance contributions, so it’s hard to employ people for summer jobs for example.
“I started working when I was 16 in summer jobs, and I feel a lot of my education was around getting out there, selling on the shop floor, working in cafés, and that enriched my experience, but I realise it’s harder and harder now.”
With vast stretches of her constituency being made up of open countryside – much of which is under threat of development – Victoria is also keen to see the Government address the issue of planning and affordable housing.
“I feel I often get this NIMBY reputation, but what I’m standing up for is reform of a broken planning system which is not delivering the affordable homes that young people need, that older people want so they can downsize, and that we need for our community, all at the cost of swathes of countryside.
“The other thing I highlight, which is really important in this area, is that although we have this wonderful countryside around us, we’re not in the middle of nowhere. We’re 30 miles north of London, we have the M1 going through the middle of my constituency, we have Luton Airport expansion which will almost double passenger capacity, and we’ve got Universal Studios coming to Bedfordshire.
“We have a lot going on here, all of which will impact on our roads, our transport, even our water, so what is wrong with highlighting all the things that are broken, and the fact that this planning system is not fixing any of those problems while building a lot of homes where the average costs are going to be near to a million pounds.
“Last year the median house price sold in my constituency was £750,000, so even if you take 20 per cent off, that’s still not an affordable home. If you think the top-down housing targets are bad now, in St Albans they’re about to almost double, so I’ll keep doing all I can to highlight that and hope Andy and his new Government do something.”
She is referring, of course, to the fact that further revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework means the district will face a 70 per cent increase in mandatory housing targets, rising to more than 23,000 new homes by 2041. This massive surge, intended to tackle the housing crisis, will place further pressure on the district’s Green Belt, with potential for extensive development on sites previously considered protected.
“We’re saying the Government should look at new cities and towns, as there are places that are desperate for that development and investment. If you look at things more holistically, then it helps to give local councils a bit more power to determine the right numbers for their area. The current Labour targets are based on the average house price and salary, and in St Albans we can see why that may have doubled.
“But building houses is not like baking bread and selling it, supply and demand doesn’t shift overnight like that, and a lot of developers take so long to build homes that actually the supply doesn’t come quick enough.
“So we need to look at this nationally, and the Government doesn’t seem to be doing that.”
There are also rumours that Burnham is considering revising the council tax system to tackle regional inequalities, which would then see local bills rise substantially, something which will have a huge impact on many households.
“We are very privileged here in Harpenden, we’ve got great schools, we have people who are very successful, but it’s a squeezed middle in many ways. Schools don’t get the London pupil premium, but have costs which are sometimes higher, and so they ask their parents for help.
“The parents are then saying that they moved here to try and have a bit more space and a good school for their kids, but the prices are just as much, if not more than London again. The reality is that there’s a veneer of affluence, but people are squeezed in many ways, and there’s only so much that local people can take.”
As part of Local Government Reorganisation, St Albans and Dacorum councils will be merging and taking on responsibilities previously assumed by County Hall, with the proposed new unitary authority covering most of Victoria’s constituency, and that of her neighbour Daisy Cooper.
Although the Lib Dems actually favour more unitary authorities, as Victoria and Daisy already enjoy a close working relationship, won’t this in fact make things easier for them?
“For me what’s important is actually what’s going to serve local people best, and what’s worrying is that we’ll see fewer councillors when we need to have local voices.
“In all honesty yes it does mean that Harpenden and Berkhamsted will be under one local authority, and that will probably make life a little bit easier for me, and Daisy and I already work well together.
“But what we actually find is a lot of our councillors are already working really hard, whether that’s around answering casework or acting as portfolio holders, responding to concerns and sorting things out, and I think there’s a risk that unitary authorities will be a dilution of that in the sense that you won’t have as many people representing you locally.”
As the Lib Dems’ national spokesperson for science, innovation and technology, Victoria has been heavily involved in both the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign and the ongoing Government review of social media access for teenagers.
However, she has been critical of Keir Starmer’s announced plans to ban children under 16 from major social media platforms by spring 2027.
“We’d seen this was a big issue for a long time, and we’ve been really hard on our position with working with experts, charities, schools and other organisations. Our approach is backed by 42 charities and experts in the field who have looked at what came out of Australia where a blanket ban isn’t working as a lot of kids can get round it.
“We want to regulate platforms not people, and I actually spoke to Government ministers and said please steal our ideas. We’ll have to wait and see what Andy will do on this, and I think he will continue to back support for action on some kind of ban on harmful social media, but at the moment it’s all up in the air and that’s slightly worrying.
“I think the last Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall, did really care about creating a safer world for young people, but now we need to make sure the new minister [Jonathan Reynolds] is actually listening too.”
Closer to home, Victoria is spending her summer on tour across her constituency, which covers areas as diverse as Sandridge, Wheathampstead and Jersey Farm.
“In all honesty, and I’m not just saying this, but it has been a genuine pleasure to spend more time in the constituency, because I’ve realised how easy it is to get sucked into Westminster when Parliament is sitting.”
But there are key topics she expects to be on the political agenda when recess is over.
“One will be the Budget, because it’s really great hearing all these wish lists, but where is the magic money tree and how will all of these things be paid for?
“The second thing is defence. What’s been really fascinating is that just before the end of Parliament there was a real shift towards discussing defence readiness and our security, and while I hope we are able to maintain diplomacy, we’re on a more unstable world and we need to get ready in terms of our defence.”
