Local elections preview

Okay, let’s face it, the local elections are not the most glamorous in the calendar but they are, in some ways, the most relevant to our everyday lives. Turnout rarely exceeds half that seen for national elections and the big issues are always, of course, reserved for higher authorities but these local elections are about… Continue reading Local elections preview

Okay, let’s face it, the local elections are not the most glamorous in the calendar but they are, in some ways, the most relevant to our everyday lives.

Turnout rarely exceeds half that seen for national elections and the big issues are always, of course, reserved for higher authorities but these local elections are about as close as ordinary electors get to the democratic process. There’s a decent chance you’ll know some of your local councillors and, once elected, they do have real power – especially in planning.

So here’s everything you need to know about the 4 May local elections.

First of all, don’t forget your ID

This is the first election for which you’ll be required to produce photo ID. Polling suggests that one-in-four voters don’t know they need ID yet and Returning Officers are worried this could produce confusion and long lines at polling stations. There’s an obvious risk that some people who are entitled to may not be allowed to vote. If you’re worried that you don’t have the right kind of ID for the 4 May elections you still have time to apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate from the Electoral Commission.

Which elections?

Here in Radlett, we’ll be voting in two elections, for Hertsmere Borough Council and for Aldenham Parish Council (there are no Hertfordshire County Council elections until 2025).

The Hertsmere Borough Council area

Hertsmere Borough Council consists of 16 wards; in Elstree and Borehamwood, Bushey, Potters Bar, Shenley and Aldenham (which is made up of Radlett and the small settlements of Letchmore Heath and Aldenham). Each ward returns either two or three councillors, for a total of 39. Aldenham is divided into two wards: Aldenham East (map) and Aldenham West (map). The Borough Council meets at the council offices in Borehamwood. From Radlett we send a total of four councillors to the Borough Council, two from each ward.

Allowances

Borough councillors are not paid for their work but can claim an allowance – and it can be quite substantial. In 2020-21 (the most recent published year), for instance, Morris Bright MBE, leader of Hertsmere Borough Council and friend to the stars, received an allowance of £44,523 for his service to the Borough. Deputy Leader Caroline Clapper received £20,509.23 (details on the Hertsmere web site). You may also know Ms Clapper as Radlett’s County Councillor (she’s a hard-working representative of the Watling ward that takes in the whole of Radlett and Elstree). For that role she received an additional alowance of £22,607.04 in financial year 2022-23 (details on the HCC web site).

Mayor of Hertsmere

Incidentally, Hertsmere has a Mayor. He and his deputy are of the old-fahioned, chain-bearing, ceremonial variety, though, elected by their fellow councillors, not the thrusting new kind of directly-elected Mayor. John Graham is a long-serving Hertsmere Borough councillor from the Aldenham East ward and sits as a representative of Hertsmere Borough Council on Aldenham Parish Council.

Our Borough could have a directly elected Mayor, though. In fact, any local authority at the District level or above can decide to have a directly-elected Mayor and it could be up to us, the electors.

Another Mayor

The government’s process for switching to an elected Mayor (this only applies in England) involves either a vote by the elected councillors or a referendum which would be held alongside a local election in the Borough. To trigger a referendum 5% of the electorate of the Borough must sign a petition – in Hertsmere that’s currently calculated to be 3,921 people. Don’t hold your breath, though. Elected Mayors are not popular. So far, most referendums held in England have voted ‘no’ and as far as we can tell there are only three Borough Councils in England with elected Mayors – Bedford, Copeland and Watford. This report from the House of Commons Library is an excellent overview, in case you’re thinking of gathering some signatures.

The Parish of Aldenham

Aldenham Parish Council is divided into two wards and they are the same as the Borough Council wards – Aldenham East and Aldenham West. The Parish Council meets in the offices above Radlett library. In the Parish we elect a total of 12 councillors, six for each ward. Eight of these councillors are elected here in the Parish and four are appointed as representatives of Hertsmere Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council.

The parties

Both of the councils in which we’re voting on 4 May are historically controlled by the Conservatives. Hertsmere Borough Council is presently divided like so:

PartySeatsConservative29Labour7Liberal Democrat339Source: Wikipedia

All four of the Borough councillors returned from the two Radlett wards are Conservatives.

At the Parish level it’s even simpler – all twelve councillors are Conservatives. Other parties do stand (see candidate lists below) and politics in Hertsmere is active and disputatious but, let’s be real, Radlett is a prosperous Home Counties town and is likely to be Tory until the end of time.

Who’s standing?

Here are all the candidates for the Parish and Borough Council elections that we can vote for, starting with Hertsmere Borough Council. You’ll notice that some candidates are labelled ‘incumbent’ which means they’re standing for re-election (some unsuccessful candidates from previous elections are also standing again – gluttons for punishment!).

Mark Cherry, property developer

Mark Cherry, currently an Aldenham Parish Councillor and Chair of the Council’s planning committee is not standing for re-election in May. Mister Cherry recently withdrew a planning application for a widely-opposed development of eight homes in the centre of Radlett. Jackie Lefton, Aldenham East Councillor and one-time Chair of the Parish Council, is also not standing in May.

Hertsmere Borough Council, Aldenham East ward

CandidatePartyDenton-Cardew, BenLib DemGoldman, Joshua Jack NathanLabHoward, Stuart JohnLib DemRosehill, Brett AshleyConSelby, LucyConIncumbentTreves Brown, Julian PatrickLabSource: Hertsmere Borough Council

Hertsmere Borough Council, Aldenham West ward

CandidatePartyAl-Saadoon, Saif MadidLib DemClapper, Caroline SaraConIncumbentDhadra, Ronan DashLabHuff, Sandra AnnLabLambert, David StephenConIncumbentMay, JonLib DemSource: Hertsmere Borough Council

Aldenham Parish Council, Aldenham East ward

CandidatePartyAli, Sahil SinghConBenjamin, Sandra RuthConGraham, JohnConJones, HelenConIncumbentRosehill, Romy MichelleConSamuelson, EstelleConIncumbentTreves Brown, Julian PatrickLabSource: Hertsmere Borough Council

Aldenham Parish Council, Aldenham West ward

CandidatePartyButwick, AnthonyConDiskin, ClareConIncumbentHuff, Sandra AnnLabKhawaja, SaleemConIncumbentLambert, David StephenConIncumbentNygate, Daniel WilliamConWoolf, Carl ElliottConSource: Hertsmere Borough Council

Who are our councillors?

Here are the results of the last elections, for our Hertsmere Borough Council seats and for Aldenham Parish Council. The councillors with a ‘Yes’ in the ‘Elected?’ column are current councillors and you can learn more about them by clicking on their names.

Hertsmere Borough Council, Aldenham East ward, 2 May 2019

CandidatePartyVotesElected?AI-Saadoon, Saif MadidLib Dem204Dickson, SueIndependent251Graham, JohnCon1,058YesHarris, David JohnathanLab160Huff, Sandra AnnLab143Selby, LucyCon1,097YesTurnout 40.28%Source: Hertsmere Borough Council

Hertsmere Borough Council, Aldenham West ward, 2 May 2019

CandidatePartyVotesElected?Clapper, Caroline SaraCon1,001YesKirk, Richard ArthurLab175Lambert, DavidCon845YesMaizels, John HenryLab160Watson, PaulLib Dem197Turnout 33.2%Source: Hertsmere Borough Council

Aldenham Parish Council, Aldenham East ward, 2 May 2019

CandidatePartyVotesElected?Al-Saadoon, Tariq SaifLab214Bass, Diana MaryLab208de Skuba, PrzemekCon865Yes (resigned January 2021)Dogan, ZeynepLab201Harris, David JohnathanLab244Huff, Sandra AnnLab224Jones, HelenCon1,093YesKhawaja, SaleemCon971YesKilhams, CatherineCon1,096YesLefton, JacquelinaCon1,109YesWickham, DermotCon1,082YesWood, LeeIndependent378Turnout 39.8%Source: Hertsmere Borough Council

Aldenham Parish Council, Aldenham West ward, 2 May 2019

CandidatePartyVotesElected?Cherry, MarkCon816YesEvans, BenCon864YesKirk, Richard ArthurLab214Lambert, David StephenCon839YesMaizels, John HenryLab210Pownall-Harris, Melanie FrancescaLab223Walton, Garry RobertCon792YesSamuelson, EstelleCon831YesWalton, Garry RobertCon845YesTurnout 33.6%Source: Hertsmere Borough Council

See also

Elections in Hertsmere – including general elections – are administered by the excellent elections team at Hertsmere Borough Council. They maintain the information web site and make sure that notices of elections, lists of candidates and results are posted online in a timely way. Most of the data in this post comes from their published documents.

Data. We’ve added all the numbers in this post to a public spreadsheet (Google Sheets). It also includes general election results, going back all the way to the first in Hertsmere, held when the constituency was created, in 1983. This data is all obtainable online, of course, but this is really the only place you’ll find it all in one document – feel free to download and use the data if you need it.

Maps. You can find accurate maps of the Parish, Borough, County and Parliamentary constituencies on the MapIt web site, maintained by MySociety, the excellent not-for-profit that also runs the indispensible They Work For You.

History. Our post about Hertsmere elections covers the whole electoral history of the Parliamentary constituency.