Local elections 2023: Could anything change in Hertfordshire?

Hertfordshire will see elections at all of its 10 district and borough councils on 4 May - could any authorities change hands?

These authorities have responsibility for areas such as housing, planning and licensing. There are no elections for Hertfordshire County Council which looks after roads, education, social services and public health, among other services.

The Conservative, Liberal Democrats and Labour parties are in charge of at least one district and borough council each, but they will be looking to gain seats from the others even if they do not take control.

The Green Party does not control any authority, but is also hoping to make gains.

Three councils - Dacorum, Hertsmere and East Herts - will see polls in all wards, while the other seven will only have a vote for a third of their councillors.

The Conservatives run Dacorum Borough Council with a reasonable majority, but the Liberal Democrats have said they are targeting the authority, which includes wards in Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley and Tring.

They are currently the official opposition with 19 councillors, while the Tories have 31, so the Lib Dems need to win seven seats to take control.

Labour has no seats, but they are believed to be targeting several and in North Herts there is already a precedent for an alliance between them and the Liberal Democrats.

East Herts District Council, which includes Bishop's Stortford, Hertford, Buntingford and Ware, is also Conservative-run with 39 of 50 councillors.

With six councillors, the Liberal Democrats are the official opposition but this is the authority where the Green Party has two councillors and, on a visit last month, their co-leader Adrian Ramsey said they were hoping to get 10 seats this time.

Hertsmere Borough Council is another Conservative council where the party has a strong majority,

It has 29 councillors in the authority, which covers Borehamwood, Bushey, Elstree and Potters Bar, while Labour have seven and the Liberal Democrats, three.

St Albans City and District Council is one of seven authorities where voters will elect about a third of the councillors and it can only remain under Liberal Democrat control because the party took 50 of the 56 seats on offer last year, when the city had elections to all seats as a result of boundary changes.

This time, with 18 seats up for grabs, they will remain in control, but the Conservatives and the Green Party will want to reduce that majority.

The Liberal Democrats also have a strong presence in Watford and it would take a massive swing towards Labour for that to change, with 12 seats being defended on a council with no Conservatives.

Three Rivers District Council, which includes Chorleywood, Abbots Langley and Rickmansworth, is also run by the Liberal Democrats who, with 23 councillors, hold a small majority of three.

The Conservatives hold 12 seats and are the official opposition, but would need to have a very good day to take control.

In Broxbourne, the Tories would have to lose all their seats to lose full control, while in Stevenage, Labour has run things since the authority was formed in 1974 and holds a solid majority.

Welwyn Hatfield is Conservative run, but the party only has one more seat than the 25 needed for full control.

The Liberal Democrats are the official opposition with 12 seats and Labour has 10, so any changes could see this authority become one with no single party with overall control.

The Tories are the largest party on North Herts Council with 19 councillors but the authority, which covers Royston, Letchworth, Hitchin and Baldock, is run by a Liberal Democrat and Labour alliance.

Mathematically, any of the three parties could gain enough seats to reach the 25 needed for a majority.

Ten independent candidates will stand across the county and other parties are also bidding for seats.

Reform UK, which began as the Brexit Party, has 19 candidates across 10 districts, while the Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition has 14 candidates, including 10 in Stevenage.

The Christian People's Alliance and the Heritage Party have three candidates each and there is a Communist candidate in St Albans.

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