Hertfordshire County Council election: Conservatives lose control and Liberal Democrats win in Bishop’s Stortford en route to being largest party

The Conservatives have sensationally lost control of Hertfordshire County Council for the first time in 26 years after the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Green Party all gained seats at their expense in Thursday’s (May 1) election.

The Tories lost just over half of the 46 seats they won at the previous poll in 2021 to be left with 22. There are 78 seats, or divisions, on the authority.

The Lib Dems are now the biggest party on the council, but their tally of 31 seats is nine short of the 40 required to be able to assume control by themselves, so they could be looking to form a progressive administration with Labour and the Green Party, both of whom won five seats, which would make a total of 41 seats.

The Conservatives and Reform cannot form a right-of-centre administration – even if the two parties desired it – as their combined seats amount to 36, four short of the required number.

The political make-up of the new council is: Liberal Democrats 31 (up 8 on the 2021 result), Conservatives 22 (-24), Reform UK 14 (+14), Green Party 5 (+4), Labour 5 (-2), Independent 1 (-). The turnout of 32% – less than a third – was down on the 37.2% in the last county council election four years ago.

Of the 78 councillors, 40 are newly elected and 38 were re-elected, which is illustrated perfectly in Bishop’s Stortford, where the Lib Dems – one newcomer and one returner – comfortably won both urban seats, East and West, with Reform second, the Conservatives third, Labour fourth and the Green Party fifth.

Miriam Swainston – who is leader of Bishop’s Stortford Town Council and a member of East Herts Council – gained Bishop’s Stortford West from the Conservatives while Calvin Horner decisively retained the Bishop’s Stortford East seat he won in 2021.

Mark Pope dramatically retained Bishop’s Stortford Rural for the Conservatives by just SEVEN votes from Reform’s Jonathan Grose after a recount. Reform wanted a second recount but withdrew their request. The seat was previously held by Graham McAndrew, who defected to Reform and stood unsuccessfully in Hertford.

All 78 seats, or divisions, on the authority were up for grabs in Thursday’s election. The Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Reform fielded candidates in all 78 while the Green Party had 77. In all, including smaller parties and independents, there was a total of 424 candidates.

In the last HCC election in 2021, the Conservatives won an overall majority – as they had done at every election since 1999. Going into yesterday’s poll, their 42 seats – four fewer than they won on polling day four years ago – gave them a narrow majority of six. The Lib Dems had 22 seats, Labour six, Independents five and the Green Party and Reform UK one each. There was one vacant seat.

In Bishop’s Stortford West, Miriam Swainston polled 1,072 votes with Harrison Grose, of Reform, pipping Conservative John Wyllie for second by just two votes – 949 to 947. David Jacobs (Labour) polled 632 and Maura Connolly (Green) 294.

In Bishop’s Stortford East, Calvin Horner polled 1,536 votes with Reform’s Mike Casey second on 774, beating third-placed Conservative David Snowdon (628). Paul Newell (Labour) was fourth with 310, Andrew Zsibrita (Green Party) was fifth with 175 and Barry Hensall (Heritage Party) sixth with 11.

Cllr Horner told the Indie at the East Herts district count at Wodson Park Sports Centre in Ware: “I’m extremely pleased – I’m delighted to have over 1,500 votes.

“As well as being delighted with the result, I’m honoured to be entrusted with another term by the people of Bishop’s Stortford.

“I never expected, but I was hopeful that what I have done over the past four years had been enough to earn the trust of the electorate, and it’s clear it has been.”

He said the result gave him the chance to complete projects he had already started. “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to finish them,” he said.

Four years ago, Cllr Horner became the first non-Tory to be elected to represent the town on Hertfordshire County Council in 24 years when he beat Conservative John Wyllie.

In Bishop’s Stortford Rural – which as well as part of the town includes the Hadhams, Pelhams and Albury – Tory Mark Pope, who missed the count because of work, polled 1,087 votes to Reform candidate Jonathan Grose’s 1,080. Lib Dem Martin Adams was third with 643, Labour’s Susan Jackson fourth with 396, the Green Party’s George Williams fifth with 316 and Jane Fowler, of the Alliance for Democracy and Freedom, sixth with 24.

In Sawbridgeworth, Conservative incumbent Eric Buckmaster polled 1,802 votes, beating Reform UK Hertford and Stortford chairman John Burmicz (1,230) by more than 500 votes. Third was Labour’s Dawn Newell with 376, fourth was Lib Dem Julia Davies with 318 and fifth was Sarah Santos of the Green Party with 267.

Going into the election, the East Herts district’s 10 seats on the county council were held by eight Conservatives, Lib Dem Calvin Horner and the Green Party’s Ben Crystall, his party’s only member at County Hall and the leader of East Herts Council.

Now, the Conservatives have just three of those seats: newcomer Mark Pope in Stortford Rural while Eric Buckmaster and Ken Crofton retained their Sawbridgeworth and Hertford Rural seats respectively.

The Greens have four – all in Hertford and Ware – the Lib Dems two (both in Stortford) and Reform UK one, after Terry Smith won the Buntingford division having also won an East Herts Council by-election. Reflecting their surge nationwide, Nigel Farage’s party were also second in eight of the seats and third in one.

Ben Crystall comfortably retained Hertford All Saints by 1,121 votes, polling 1,870 to Reform runner-up Graham McAndrew’s 749.

He will now be joined at County Hall by Rachel Carter, who won Hertford St Andrew’s from Reform’s David West by just 59 votes, Kirsty Taylor-Moran, who ousted long-serving Conservative David Andrews in Ware North, and by Steven Watson in Ware South.

While counting in the vast majority of the county’s seats began on Friday morning, the six divisions in Broxbourne were declared last night.

The Conservatives held four of the six – Cheshunt Central, Hoddesdon North, Hoddesdon South and Waltham Cross – despite significantly reduced votes. Reform were second in all four.

But Reform’s Tony Hill won in Flamstead End and Turnford – beating serving Tory Mark Mills-Bishop, who is also leader of Broxbourne Council, by 28 votes – while Anthony Owen took Goffs Oak and Bury Green from the Conservatives.

In 2016 Broxbourne voted 66% for Brexit and more recently the party has seen its first two councillors on the borough council.

The chairman of Reform in Broxbourne, Hamish Haddow, said that the Conservatives would now have to realise that support for Reform in the county was “not just a protest vote”.

Voters were feeling the pain of the past 14 years and wanting change locally, said Mr Haddow, and with seats on the county council Reform would have the opportunity to influence budgets and to highlight “erroneous decisions”.

Richard Roberts, the previous Conservative leader of the county council, who retained his seat in King’s Langley, said: “There’s a national sentiment that has been driven by Nigel Farage, and it has washed over our local elections from the north of the country to the south.”