Hertfordshire councils respond to minister’s call for views on postponing May elections
The majority of councils in Hertfordshire say they do not want this year’s planned local elections to be postponed, despite ongoing work that could see them replaced by unitary authorities by 2028.
Six of Hertfordshire’s 10 district and borough councils - Broxbourne, St Albans, Stevenage, Three Rivers, Watford and Welwyn Hatfield - are scheduled to hold elections for at least some of their seats in May.
In December, local government minister Alison McGovern wrote to council leaders asking for their views on postponing the polls, giving them until January 15 to respond.
In that letter - sent to 64 councils nationwide - she pointed to the ongoing work to “streamline” local government and said that nationally there had been requests from “multiple” councils to postpone May’s elections.
In Hertfordshire, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that four of the six councils scheduled to hold elections - Conservative-run Broxbourne and the Liberal Democrat-run trio of St Albans, Three Rivers and Watford - have told the minister elections should go ahead.
But Stevenage and Welwyn Hatfield borough councils - the former run by a Labour administration and the latter by a Labour-Lib Dem coalition - back postponement.
Ultimately, a decision on whether or not elections go ahead will be made by ministers.
Stevenage Borough Council’s cabinet voted on Wednesday (January 14) to back postponement. Afterwards, Labour leader Cllr Richard Henry said there had been a “clear consensus that postponement is the preferred way forward”.
He said it was the “option that best protects local services, finances and our responsibilities to the town as we navigate local government reorganisation over the next two years”.
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council considered the minister’s letter at special meetings of the full council and the cabinet on Thursday (January 15).
Ultimately, a Labour majority of the council’s coalition cabinet voted in favour of postponement. The council has confirmed that Labour leader Cllr Max Holloway has written to the minister to request a postponement.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Watford mayor Peter Taylor has written to the minister to say May’s elections should go ahead.
“It’s really important that local residents decide who has the honour of serving as Elected Mayor, and as one of their local councillors, in the final years of Watford Council,” he said. “I’ve written back to say that these elections should go ahead so that local residents can have their say.”
Three Rivers District Council leader Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Lib Dem) has written to the minister to say there is “no reason” to postpone May’s elections and that there are “no capacity concerns raised by holding the elections as scheduled”.
The LDRS understands that St Albans District Council and Broxbourne Borough Council have also responded to the minister saying they will not be seeking a postponement.
Broxbourne leader Cllr Corina Gander said: “My view, and that of the ruling Conservative group, is that postponement of elections should only be permitted in exceptional circumstances, and I do not think that capacity constraints are a legitimate reason for delaying these long planned arrangements.
“Broxbourne Council sees no capacity constraints which would justify a delay to the 2026 elections.”