Pre-election round-up: Tories defending a huge majority in Dacorum

Councillor Andrew Williams, leader of Dacorum Borough Council ENGPNL00320130520102927

Dacorum goes to the polls again on Thursday, but it would take a collossal shock for the result to be anything other than another Tory landslide.

All 51 seats are up for election, but the Conservatives currently hold 43 of them.

Nonetheless the Conservatives may yet face some interesting battles when voters make their decisions.

Council leader Cllr Andrew Williams (pictured) is one of five current Tory councillors to have moved to new seats.

Cllr Williams has switched to the safe seat of Adeyfield East; in the 2015 election he had the smallest number of votes of any of the three Conservatives elected in Boxmoor.

One Conservative who may find polling day tougher is Rene De Silva, candidate in Nash Mills.

A solicitor, Mr De Silva made headlines after his candidacy was announced when it emerged that a professional tribunal had described him and his colleagues as “reckless” for his role in “misappropriating client money”.

He will be battling for election against Cllr Jan Maddern, an Independent who was elected with a healthy majority when she stood as a Conservative in 2015, and a Labour’s Bernard Gronert who is a former councillor himself.

The Lib Dems will be looking to retain both seats in Adeyfield West, after Cllr Adrian England took the seatfrom the Conservatives in a by-election three years ago. He shares the ward with Cllr Ron Tindall who is group leader.

Meanwhile there are a number of seats which were close in 2015 which could be worth looking out for.

Highfield was split between Labour and the Lib Dems last time, but both only narrowly edged out Conservative candidates.

And both Tring Central, and Tring West And Rural were close calls in 2015.