The Green Party gained a seat in Clarence ward, as all other seats were held by their respective parties at the 2023 St Albans local election.
The count took place today (Friday, May 5) at Batchwood Golf and Sports Centre, on Batchwood Drive, with 18 seats up for election.
Prior to the count, 49 of St Albans City & District Council’s seats were held by the Liberal Democrats, four by Conservatives, one by the Green Party, one independent and one vacant.
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The updated political structure of the council sees the Lib Dems retain 48 seats, the Conservatives retain their four, the Green Party gain another seat, with one independent and one vacant.
The leader of St Albans City & District Council, Cllr Chris White, told The Herts Advertiser: “The people have spoken, that’s always an impressive sight, and we’ll be listening to what they say throughout the next year."
Speaking of the campaign, ahead of the vote, Cllr White added: “It was cold actually, in weather terms, and funnily enough these things matter.
“One of the coldest and darkest campaigns I can remember!
“We’re getting people out, and people are happy to see us.
“They were speaking about what they liked, and what they didn’t – more what they liked than what they didn’t.
“It was good to talk to people, but a little bit more sunshine would not have been amiss.”
Speaking of his aims for a future Liberal Democrat council, Cllr White continued: “Well, we’ve got to start the next stage of the Local Plan, that’s absolutely key.
“So, I’ll be consulting on that in the summer.
“Beyond that, we’ve got to wrestle with the continuing budget pressures that the Government has landed us with.
“That means constantly looking for savings I’m afraid, and some things may well have to be cut until the Government wakes up and realises that local Government underfunding cannot go on forever.
“In a positive light, the key thing is ‘environment, environment, environment’.
“We’ll be enhancing the profile of that still further in the way that we’re going to be restructuring some of the council’s committees.
“We do want to emphasise that the planet is important, and it’s going to be an important part of the draft of the local plan.”
Speaking with few results left to be announced, the Conservative Party’s parliamentary spokesperson for St Albans, Clare De Silva, added: “Results today are probably pretty much as expected.
"We have, so far, held our own but the interesting thing is that we are actually starting to see cracks in Lib Dem machine - with a Green win in Clarence.
"The really interesting thing, that you don't necessarily see in the data, is that the counts are getting closer and closer.
"It's looking hopeful, and we're actually making ground within each ward.
"So, I think it's all to play for, and I think it shows that actually the Lib Dem stranglehold isn't quite as solid as they thought."
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