Reform UK candidate bids for county, district and parish council seats in May 1 elections

A Reform UK candidate is aiming for a hat-trick as he contests the first East Herts Council (EHC) by-election since 2023, a Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) seat and a spot on Braughing Parish Council.

The contenders for one of two Braughing and Standon seats on EHC are (in alphabetical order): Conservative Jane Dodson; Liberal Democrat Freddie Jewitt; Labour’s Jo Linney; Reform UK’s Terry Smith; and the Green Party’s James Taylor-Moran.

Mr Smith is also Reform’s candidate for HCC’s Buntingford division, battling Labour’s Ian Bell, Liberal Democrat Karl Harrington, incumbent Conservative Jeff Jones and the Green Party’s Georgina Schwan. At the last county council election in 2021, he trailed in last of five candidates with 94 votes – 2% of the total – and lost his deposit.

The EHC Braughing and Standon by-election has been triggered by the resignation of Conservative Frankie Woolf. In May 2023, the ward was a three-party race. Ms Woolf and veteran Tory Stan Bull took both seats with 541 and 646 votes respectively. The Green Party was third, one vote ahead of the top-placed of two Labour candidates.

If Mr Smith wins this seat, he will become the district council’s second Reform representative, joining Cllr Graham McAndrew, the former Conservative who defected to Nigel Farage’s party in March and who has defied calls to step down from his Bishop's Stortford Thorley Manor seat and fight a by-election.

Cllr McAndrew is not contesting his seat on HCC, representing Bishop’s Stortford Rural division, on May 1, but in a shock move he is standing in Hertford All Saints.

The 78-seat county council currently has 42 Conservatives, 22 Liberal Democrats, 6 Labour, 5 Independents, 1 Green and 1 Reform UK with one seat vacant.

The 50-seat district council currently has 17 Greens, 14 Conservatives, 10 Liberal Democrats, 5 Labour, 2 Independents, 1 Reform UK and one vacancy.

The Braughing Parish Council vote follows Paul Currie’s decision to step down, citing work pressures. In a three-horse race, Mr Smith will face Graham Purse (Independent Long Term Resident) and Debbie Mellowship.

For a list of all the candidates contesting the 10 East Herts divisions on Herts County Council, see https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/parties-confirm-candidates-for-east-herts-10-herts-county-c-9411671/.