Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch hits Hertfordshire County Council campaign trail in Bishop’s Stortford for John Wyllie

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch joined Herts County Council election candidate Cllr John Wyllie on the campaign trail in Bishop’s Stortford.

The MP for North West Essex, formerly the Saffron Walden constituency, stepped across the border to lend her support as he canvassed residents ahead of the vote on Thursday May 1.

Cllr Wyllie, who is already a member of the town council and East Herts Council, is contesting the Bishop’s Stortford West division.

Cllr Wyllie, who has been a councillor for 26 years, hopes to make a comeback as a Hertfordshire county councillor by winning the seat currently held by fellow Tory Cllr Alastair Ward-Booth. In 2021, he lost his Bishop’s Stortford East seat to Liberal Democrat Cllr Calvin Horner.

He said: “Representing Bishop’s Stortford residents has been a great honour, and I am standing again as the Conservative candidate to continue delivering for our community.

“From securing investment in public services to protecting our green spaces, my focus remains on making Bishop’s Stortford the best place to live and work.

“It was fantastic to have Kemi Badenoch join us to hear directly from residents about what matters most to them.”

Cllr Wyllie’s recent achievements in office include key roles in delivering investment in Castle Park, the Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre and land for new allotments.

There are 10 divisions in East Herts represented by a Herts county councillor, including three for the Bishop’s Stortford area and one for Sawbridgeworth.

Nominations for all 78 seats on the authority close on Wednesday April 2. So far, Cllr Wyllie will face Reform UK’s Harrison Grose, Liberal Democrat Cllr Miriam Swainston, Labour’s Cllr David Jacobs and Green Cllr Maura Connolly.