09 May 2024
Party leaders of all political persuasions have been picking over the results of last week’s district council elections, sometimes reflecting on what might have been, but largely to focus on their plans going forwards in the wake of the Lib Dems’ continued control of SADC.
After voters went to the polls on Thursday, the count took place at Batchwood Sports Centre on a very wet Friday afternoon, with the results trickling in over a number of hours.
Perhaps the only big shock of the day was Labour seizing control of London Colney from the Conservatives, as Emma Turnbull and Mike Hobday joined Lib Dem Mike Lillico in representing the ward.
They said afterwards: “We would like to thank all the people in London Colney who voted for us in the district council elections. The results are a clear warning to the Liberal Democrats. They need to re-think some of their negative policies affecting the village.
“Whether it’s building on the Green Belt or introducing new car parking charges; we will stand up to the Liberal Democrats and champion the best interests of the village.”
The Liberal Democrats now have 47 out of 56 seats, down from the 49 they held after last May’s ballot, but seem far from worried about the drop.
Retiring SADC leader Chris White said on Friday: “We are humbled by today’s win. Liberal Democrats have a track record of delivering here in St Albans. From our award-winning Charter Market to safeguarding our environment, to protecting vital services in the face of cuts from central government, Liberal Democrats are putting St Albans first.
“Our Liberal Democrat candidates, campaigners and councillors continue to work tirelessly to keep St Albans moving forward.
“We are incredibly proud of our team here in St Albans district and are over the moon with today’s success.”
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper, who was also present at the count, agreed: “I’m so pleased to see this resounding vote of confidence in the local Liberal Democrats’ forward-looking vision for our area.
“Together we have shown the difference that hard-working Liberal Democrats can make.
“Despite every obstacle the Conservatives have thrown at our community, local people have understood our commitment to them.”
And Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, added: “Today’s success is testament to our hard-working Liberal Democrat team.
“More and more voters are turning to the Liberal Democrats in Harpenden and the villages.
“We have shown once again the new seat of Harpenden and Berkhamsted will be a two-horse race between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
“We are excited to welcome our newest members to our team and to continue working hard to keep St Albans district moving forward.”
For the Local Conservatives – representing Tories across the district – the loss of London Colney and the failure to seize back any other seats has done nothing to unnerve the fighting spirit of prospective Parliamentary candidate for St Albans James Spencer.
“I am of course completely gutted for all our hard-working candidates and especially for Frances Leonard in Marshalswick East and Jersey Farm, James Cook in St Stephen and of course Simon Calder in London Colney all of whom were just 200 votes or so shy of getting over the line. In the grand scheme of things this is not an insurmountable obstacle to overcome.
“I’ve been open from the outset that taking on the Lib Dems in St Albans is going to be an uphill battle. Have these results dampened my enthusiasm for the fight? Absolutely not! I genuinely believe there is still all to play for.
“Labour has traditionally had a strong base in London Colney, and with Labour doing well in the polls currently, it is perhaps not surprising that it swung back. I sincerely hope that London Colney’s new councillors can live up to the excellent standard set by Simon Calder.
“We also mustn’t forget the Greens had a decent showing last week as well. They were within spitting distance of getting in in Clarence and Batchwood, so it is clear they are taking a sizable chunk of the Lib Dem vote.”
Since joining the race to become St Albans’ next MP, James has played out the mantra of ‘the Lib Dems marking their own homework’, as they hold control of both the constituency and the council. Does he envision a change in tactics following the district result?
“That message was very well received on the doorstep, especially in areas threatened by development on the Green Belt. When you explain to residents that the Lib Dems have 85% of all councillors but have failed to produce a Local Plan, people are shocked.
“However, as I’ve said before, this is a David and Goliath fight here and on this occasion we found ourselves outgunned by the Lib Dem campaign machine.”
Looking forwards, he is of the opinion that a Labour landslide is unlikely in the next General Election, with a coalition of sorts needed with the Lib Dems.
“Analysis from last week’s elections show that if these results were played out at a General Election, Labour would be 30 seats short of a majority. Any potential Labour Government would therefore have to be propped up by the Lib Dems. What is abundantly clear then is that a vote for anyone other than me, risks letting in a Government led by Kier Starmer and Angela Rayner.
“It has also shown is that it’s not enough just to vote for an alternative party to get the Lib Dems out. Given the size of their campaign machine, we’re going to need more people to get involved to get the message about the Lib Dems abysmal record here in St Albans out.
“To all those who voted Conservative in last week’s local elections, I urge you to get in touch with us (stalbansconservatives.com) and join our movement for change.”
Representatives of the Local Conservatives group added: “We are disappointed by last week’s election results, as our community activists around the district worked very hard, particularly the candidates in St Stephen, Marshalswick East and Jersey Farm and in London Colney, all of whom came close to being elected.
“However, we were pleased we held Harpenden South with one of our new, young dynamic candidates representing residents’ interests at Council and ensuring scrutiny of Liberal Democrat decisions.
“If you look at the results across the board, the Liberal Democrats’ mismanagement of council finances and attempts to fleece motorists and older residents have resulted in a swing to other parties including the Greens and Labour, and we expect this to continue.
“It is clearly a difficult time nationally, and we know that many Conservatives stayed at home last week. It’s up to the Conservatives to continue to improve the national economy so people can see the benefit of reducing interest rates and reduced inflation and to convince them our parliamentary candidates in St Albans and Harpenden and Berkhamsted are working for them, in their interests, and are true local champions. We look forward to meeting and talking with residents over the summer.”
Meanwhile, in Harpenden South, there was relief after new candidate Matt Cowley held onto the seat for the Tories by just 58 votes. He said: “I’m enormously grateful that the people of Harpenden South have given me the honour of serving them as their new district councillor.
“There is so much to do – whether that be getting the council’s planning department back on track and out of special measures, fixing the Local Plan to protect more of our beautiful countryside while finding the right places to build affordable homes for local people, protecting free parking on Harpenden’s High Street, fighting for universal senior parking permits, and so much more. We need a council that gets the basics right and I will be working with my Conservative colleagues to provide the strong opposition St Albans district needs.”
Finally Harpenden and Berkhamsted prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Conservatives, Nigel Gardner, added his own thoughts on their performance and his prospects of becoming MP: “Local elections are not national elections. As the General Election gets closer, I believe everything is still to play for – and I will be knocking on as many doors as possible in Harpenden and our amazing villages to make our case.
“A Starmer government will mean building over our local Green Belt and VAT on school fees.”
Elsewhere, St Albans District Greens successfully defended their seat in St Peter’s ward, and came very close to winning two more. The loss of London Colney for the Conservatives means the four-strong Green & Independent group is now the second largest alliance on the council, with three Greens and independent Redbourn councillor David Mitchell.
Local Green Party spokesperson Cllr Simon Grover said: “Our increased vote shows that people here in St Albans have put their trust in the Green Party – they know we do politics differently and put local people and our environment first. We are also the only party in the city able to scrutinise the Lib Dem administration and hold them to account.”
Clarence candidate Lucy Swift, who with more than 1,200 votes came close to winning the seat of outgoing council leader Chris White, said: “A huge thank you to everyone who voted Green in Clarence ward on Thursday. The support and warmth I received on the doorsteps was incredible and very humbling. We were so close.
“I am immensely disappointed that even after a long and hard-fought campaign I won’t be able to serve Clarence residents as I had hoped, but I remain buoyed by the knowledge that in a traditionally safe Lib Dem ward I received so much positive energy and feedback.
“And I am of course greatly indebted to my Green colleagues, especially Cllr Matt Fisher for all the help and hard work they put in alongside me.”
Batchwood candidate Damian Gaskin lost out on a council seat by just 42 votes: “I am absolutely amazed and deeply grateful so many people put posters in their windows, shops and cars and then, over 900 of them voted for me.
“I believe what my supporters have seen is someone who takes Batchwood seriously and treats it with the love and respect it truly deserves. I am sorry that I was not quite able to cross the line.
“But, you fall down and you pick yourself back up and the next morning at 7.30am I was out litter-picking and then working with a team to make the shopfronts at New Greens even more attractive to residents and visitors alike!”
St Albans Reform UK Party failed to secure any council seats, but despite this disappointing result, spokesperson and prospective Parliamentary candidate for St Albans John Dowdle was positive about their performance.
“I think St Albans Reform UK Party has made reasonably good progress this year. A year ago there was just one Reform UK candidate in the local election who gained 49 votes. This year we stood five Reform UK candidates, who gained 776 votes. I think we can claim that this is a good foundation for our party to thrive locally and to build upon.
“In London Colney, our Reform UK candidate out-performed both of the Green Party candidates. In Park Street, our Reform UK candidate out-performed Labour and Green Party candidates. In Sopwell, our Reform UK candidate out-performed the Communist Party candidate. In St Stephen, our Reform UK candidate out-performed the Green Party candidate.
“Considering that I only got involved in organising and co-ordinating St Albans Reform UK Party less than a year ago, I think St Albans Reform UK Party has made very creditable progress in the short time we have been active locally.
“We look forward to the upcoming General Election whenever Rishi Sunak (assuming he remains Prime Minister?) finally raises the nerve to call it. Based on all the results nationally now in, I assume he is in no hurry to call a General Election anytime soon.
“St Albans Reform UK Party is ready and eager to play its part in the political life of St Albans. We believe we will be going from strength to strength over time as we gradually replace the Conservative Party and offer the people of St Albans and the United Kingdom a real alternative common-sense party with real alternative common-sense policies designed to improve and enhance all their lives.”
Mark Ewington, Communist Party of Great Britain candidate for Sopwell, secured just 17 votes, but remains positive about the future: “To agitate, organise and to create a discussion have been high on our agenda for standing. Most left-wing parties are like echo chambers who never seek to communicate with electors, that’s what makes us different.
“Our activity is drawing out others both in London and the east of England. Indeed, we have just selected our general election candidates of which I will be one.
“As Tom Mann famously said ‘evolution ends with revolution’. We are engaging and we are motivating others to be active in our communities. The simple truth is those on the left need to make their case with people who may not agree with them.
“We will continue to work hard and directly engage with people where they are rather than where we might like them to be.”
In Bernards Heath, independent candidate Gee Smeadley, the face of Green Belt campaign group Team CLASH, failed to overturn the Lib Dems and picked up only 194 votes.
She said afterwards: “We knew from the start of the election campaign, that with very limited resources our main aim was to raise the message whilst more residents were listening for local information at election time. Our focus continues to be on our [Green Belt] campaign. Through this process we are now a stronger team with a wider skill set.
“On a personal note, this has truly been an eye-opening, challenging and at times mind-boggling few weeks, but it has been a huge privilege to be able to take part in such an important democratic process. I would like to thank the council officers for their assistance and making it so ‘doable’. As an independent candidate there is a lot to get your head around. So a massive personal thank you to those of you who have voted for me and anyone who can make St Albans district better for all of us.
“There are some really great councillors and some really not. Those in the three wards in north St Albans have made no case for why they are not supporting mass community efforts to protect our unique limited countryside.
“Councillors have sent disingenuous letters and their influencers have spammed social media with misleading statements and tragically, have led voters to believe that planning isn’t political, when that is one of the primary role of a local councillor, strategic guidance on local planning matters.
“The proportion of people voting Liberal Democrat is falling fast and now only 38%, most people voted for other candidates and more people can see how we are being misled by this Liberal Democrat leadership who work for their few desired causes and not inclusive of the whole community.”
As the dust settles on the district elections, the focus next will be on the leadership contest to see who replaces Chris White in charge of both the local Liberal Democrats and the administration, with Cllrs Jacqui Taylor, Paul de Kort and Helen Campbell all favourites to enter the race to determine the direction the council will be taking for the foreseeable future.
