BRIEFING Political earthquake across East Herts

The political landscape of East Herts changed beyond recognition on Thursday 4th May when local elections saw the Greens become the largest party on East Herts District Council and the Conservative Party, which had been dominant in the area for decades, swept from power.

Voters went to the polls to elect councillors to represent them on both the district council and the area’s town councils.

As the party in Government nationally, and behind in the polls, the Conservatives were widely expected to lose seats.

The shock in East Herts was just how many seats they lost in an overwhelming rejection of the Tories in an area traditionally considered to be true blue – and just how many seats the Greens gained, arguably taking even the most optimistic of the party’s supporters by surprise.

The Conservatives lost control of East Herts District Council to no overall control.

They lost control of Bishop’s Stortford Town Council to the Liberal Democrats.

And incredibly they went from a position of overall control to not having a single councillor on either Hertford Town or Ware Town councils where the Greens again dominated.

Only in Sawbridgeworth did the Conservative vote hold up, with all three councillors elected to the district council from Sawbridgeworth ward coming from the Conservatives, and the town council remaining comfortably under Conservative control.

The general national mood would undoubtedly have contributed to the result. But other factors were likely to be at play too including the influence of a growing and more diverse population with many moving out to the district in recent years from London. While recent administrations have worked hard to bring about positive change with major projects including the rebuilding of Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre in Bishop’s Stortford, the ongoing refurbishment of Hartham Leisure Centre and the expansion of Hertford Theatre, both in Hertford, there have been frustrations at the Conservatives’ insistence on pushing ahead with the building of a new multi-storey car park in Bishop’s Stortford and with the wider Old River Lane project that the car park is intended to serve despite huge opposition to both.

There has also been widespread concern about the amount of new housing proposed in East Herts which has seen a number of areas across the district removed from the green belt.

These concerns, along with very active on the ground campaigning from the other parties, seem to have convinced a disgruntled electorate that maybe a change would be as good as a rest. But what a change!

No drama in Broxbourne or Harlow as Conservatives buck trend to maintain status quo

There were also elections to Broxbourne and Harlow councils.

Both are district or borough councils that elect a third of councillors in three years of a four-year cycle.

In Broxbourne, where 10 out of the 30 council seats were up for election, there was no change in the overall situation, with the Conservatives winning the nine seats they held and Labour holding its one.

Prominent councillors Steve Wortley and Paul Mason and the Mayor of Broxbourne Paul Seeby all retained their seats. The overall make-up of the council remains as it was before, with the Conserva- tives holding 27 seats and Labour three. In Harlow the Conservatives also retained control, gaining one seat from Labour to win five of the 11 seats being contested, whilst Labour held on to the other six. The overall make-up of Harlow Council is now therefore 21 Conservatives and 12 Labour members.