Elections

The next local elections for St Albans District are on 1 May 2025, for Hertfordshire County Council.

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Green manifesto for hertfordshire

Building a Better Hertfordshire – For Everyone

Hertfordshire needs local representatives who understand our everyday challenges and our future needs. Your Green Party councillors will:

Tackle the Cost of Living Crisis 

  • Support local businesses and green jobs, through stronger collaboration with Local Enterprise Partnerships.
  • Demand genuinely affordable housing from developers, by enforcing stricter Community Infrastructure Levy collection.
  • Partner with business in a skills programme to meet local shortages and help residents to access better-paying jobs.

Protect Community Services 

  • Oppose cuts to libraries and community centres, working with community groups.
  • Campaign for improved mental health support, through joint funding bids with the NHS.
  • Advocate for better facilities for young people in our communities, by engaging with youth organisations.

Transform Local Transport 

  • Push for better road maintenance by challenging wasteful consultant spending.
  • Facilitate improved bus services through partnership with neighbouring councils.
  • Create safe cycling routes to schools, using developer contributions and government grants.

Defend Our Environment 

  • Demand protection for our green spaces and chalk streams, advocate for council-backed home insulation schemes to cut energy bills, and strongly oppose unsustainable development in the Green Belt.
  • Promote local renewable energy projects that generate income for our communities, through Community Municipal Bonds.
  • Safeguard our precious natural environment including protecting and planting trees.

Campaign for Fairer Democracy

  • Campaign for a fairer Proportional Representation electoral system in local elections, whether they be for District, County, Unitary Authority Councils, or Mayoral.  

Vote Green for councillors who’ll be a strong voice for your community and protect our environment for you and future generations. We will work to bring about a County Council that responds effectively to residents’ queries and values their experience; that makes the most of Council budgets and invests in core services; and that shares information transparently with early and meaningful consultations on new projects.

Late in 2024, the UK Government announced its intention to reorganise local government, including in Hertfordshire, potentially replacing the current ten district councils and the county council, with one or more unitary authorities. This is part of a wider plan to streamline local governance. The Government also wants unitary authorities to be headed by a strategic mayor (similar to London).

Proponents argue that larger councils could deliver services more efficiently and reduce costs, and powers could be devolved from Westminster to mayors. However, critics, including the Green Party, warn that the changes could undermine local democracy by concentrating power in fewer hands and reducing representation for smaller communities. Whilst devolution is to be applauded in principle, the Government’s plans look more like centralisation. The crucial connection between residents and local community councillors could be broken if councillors are overseeing much larger areas.

Hertfordshire’s district councils, including the Green-run East Herts Council, have raised concerns about the loss of accountability and community focus. They argue that a single unitary council may not adequately represent diverse local needs. The Greens have strongly opposed the plans, emphasising that smaller councils play a crucial role in addressing local issues and ensuring residents’ voices are heard. Discussions are ongoing, and no final decisions have been made.

Hertfordshire is not among the county councils to apply to the Government to be in the first wave of new unitary councils. This means our 2025 elections will go ahead as planned, and the new unitary arrangement is likely to come in around 2027/2028.

The Green Party has seen growing success in St Albans District in recent years. Simon Grover became their first district councillor in 2011, representing St Peter’s ward on St Albans City & District Council. He has since been re-elected five times, establishing a strong Green presence in the area.

In 2023, the party gained a second seat on the district council when Matt Fisher won in Clarence ward. Later that year, Juliet Voisey secured a third Green seat by winning a by-election in St Peter’s ward. Juliet was re-elected in 2024.

In parliamentary elections, Simon Grover ran as the Green candidate for St Albans in 2024, achieving 6.3% of the vote – an increase from previous results. These wins reflect a steady rise in Green support in St Albans, with their councillors leading projects on sustainability, waste reduction, and wildlife-friendly policies.

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