Watford Conservatives reflect on local election results in Watford

Despite failing to pick up any seats once again on Watford Borough Council, the Tories doubled their vote in the town from 2019, and overtook the Labour party in five wards.

The party's chairman, Binita Mehta-Parmar, who stood to be a councillor in Nascot ward, seemed disappointed her party weren't able to secure any of their target seats, when talking to the Observer about their overall performance.

She said: "Thank you very much to all those residents who voted for their local Conservative candidates last week. We started from a weak position, with no Conservative councillors on Watford Borough Council, but we fought a strong campaign on key local issues which people really care about.

"We have demonstrated that we are true community campaigners, receiving a positive reaction on doorsteps, and this can be seen in the support we received – our vote share dramatically increased in all areas and we’ve closed the gap substantially in all parts of the town."

Thank you to everyone who supported us in the local elections.

Our vote share was the highest in years - in some wards, its highest for more than 20 years!

We had a great team of local candidates who will continue to fight for their local communities to make Watford better. pic.twitter.com/SN2VIBZZN6

— Watford Conservatives (@WatfordTories) May 8, 2021

Ms Mehta-Parmar says her party chose to focus their campaign on local issues like development.

She said: "We found these (issues) resonating with residents across the constituency, especially on issues like over-development of our area by the Liberal Democrats, axing the garden tax and saving Watford Market.

"We will keep taking the fight to the tired Lib Dem administrations in Watford, who are running out of ideas and making mistake after mistake."

See more: Full 2021 election results from Watford

Dean Russell, Watford's Conservative MP, and Watford's Liberal Democrat mayor, Peter Taylor, right, have not met eye-to-eye when it comes to development in Watford

Watford's mayor, Peter Taylor, has consistently blamed the level of approved new builds in Watford on "unrealistic" housing targets set by the Government, recently accusing the Tories of "piling the pressure" on places like Watford.

He also recently backed calls to stop a "power grab" of planning powers by the Government. Speaking to delegates at the virtual Lib Dem conference in September last year, Mr Taylor urged the government to think again on proposals which could see the introduction of fast-track permissions for offices, extra storeys to be added to existing housing and flats without planning permission, and whole areas being designated as 'growth areas' where developers will automatically be granted planning permission.

A bird's eye view of the Berkeley Homes scheme for around 1,200 homes on the Range site, including a 28-storey tower.

But Ms Mehta-Parmar said: "It is not good enough for the local Liberal Democrat administrations to just blame central government targets and to try to use this finger-pointing exercise as a 'get out of jail free card' to avoid taking responsibility for their local decisions.

"If they had an up-to-date local plan and a proper medium-term planning strategy, they would not have to make panicky decisions to launch a new wave of high-rise buildings in our town.

"And the mini-Manhattan they plan with new tall offices and flats from the High Street, up Clarendon Road, past the Junction station and up St Albans Road is their idea – a North London Croydon. It will change our town forever if it is not stopped."

See more: Watford Labour leader reflects on party's election results