Opposition spectacle contrasts with serious budget for Hertsmere residents with core spending increased by 19%
Last night’s meeting of Hertsmere Borough Council saw key services secured and enhanced through the passage of a responsible, fair and growth-focussed budget.
What should have been a serious discussion about Hertsmere’s future was repeatedly overshadowed by bizarre scenes and confused interventions from opposition councillors who, having failed to bring forward any alternative budget proposals adopted behaviours more fitting to a school playground than a council chamber.
In one of the strangest moments seen in the council chamber in recent memory, the Mayor (Cllr Collins, Hertsmere First Independent Group), adorned in a sparkly silver jacket, abruptly adjourned the meeting less than half an hour after proceedings began, mid-debate, having realised he was not wearing his ceremonial chain. With no warning or formal explanation, he left the chamber, bringing proceedings to a halt.
What followed only added to the surreal atmosphere. Conservative councillors produced a birthday cake in the middle of the council chamber and began singing Happy Birthday to Cllr Morris Bright. Residents watching proceedings could have been forgiven for wondering whether the chamber had briefly been mistaken for a party venue rather than the borough’s principal democratic forum. Whilst Labour wishes Cllr Bright a very happy 60th birthday indeed – there is a time and a place… Cllr Bright has a reputation as a classic comedy film and TV enthusiast. We suspect that even he was somewhat embarrassed at this attempt to replicate a Carry-On movie in the council chamber.
The confusion did not end there.
During debate on the council’s budget and council tax, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group, Cllr Harvey Cohen, appeared to suggest that community groups and residents could take on certain council functions to save money. Despite being pressed by Cllr Newmark (Labour) he was unable to explain exactly what services he believed should be handed over. Local people will have serious questions about the Conservative vision for local public services.
Residents rely on the council to deliver essential services, from collecting bins to tackling fly-tipping, maintaining parks, supporting housing, and protecting vulnerable people. The suggestion that these responsibilities could be delivered free of charge by teams of residents volunteering in hi-vis jackets without explanation was the closest the opposition came to presenting any alternative budget proposals.
Meanwhile, opposition Leader Cllr Lynette Sullivan (Conservative) used her entire budget speech to express concerns about lack of capacity to deliver our ambitious plans. Fair enough? Maybe – but not when she appeared to have completely missed the major investment in a new programme management and coordination unit designed precisely to provide the additional capacity that officers have advised will be required. When all else fails, read the papers…. Perhaps Cllr Sullivan should look at capacity closer to home. Her own group appears to be in disarray. Before even the formal finish time of 10.30pm several of them simply walked out, claiming it was too late for them to consider further matters with their full attention. Most of those who left before the end did so to avoid having to vote in accordance with party whip on a confidential but important report further down the agenda. They had rightly determined that Cllrs Sullivan and Cohen were playing party politics with the future of a key council asset – and some of them have privately confirmed that this was the case.
Reform UK councillor Brett Rosehill added further confusion during his remarks, criticising the council’s Screen Arts Investment Fund. In doing so, he appeared to misunderstand the purpose of the fund entirely, suggesting it was intended for installing large television screens around the area. Perhaps he had been out celebrating Cllr Bright’s birthday with a few drinks before the meeting.
In reality, the Screen Arts Investment Fund is a strategic initiative designed to support and promote Hertsmere’s world-leading creative and cultural sector – the anchor of our local economy. With Elstree and Borehamwood at the heart of the UK’s film and television industry, the fund will ensure residents continue to benefit from the borough’s unique global position in screen arts as competition grows around both the UK and the globe.
Hertsmere First councillor Graeme Alexander also drew attention for all the wrong reasons after voting against the Council Tax Setting report. This report is a procedural requirement that enables Hertsmere to collect Council Tax on behalf of all relevant authorities, including parish and town councils. Cllr Alexander had previously supported council tax decisions at Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council, making his vote against the collection mechanism at borough level particularly difficult to reconcile. Opposing this report means you are against collecting any council tax at all, bringing all key services including adult social care, homelessness provision, waste collection to an absolute standstill from 1 April. Cllr Alexander may be a Bank of England Actuary, but doesn’t seem to have the basic understanding that public services are actually paid for via taxation.
Despite these distractions, the council successfully passed our Labour led partnership administration’s budget for growth. It includes hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment in cleaner streets, enhanced street cleaning services and stronger enforcement to tackle fly-tipping and environmental crime as well as anti-social behaviour by doubling the size of our uniformed Community Enforcement Officer Team. These investments will be bolstered by new capital expenditure on vehicles and equipment to expand the reach and flexibility of these popular services. Over £100k of new money will support housing initiatives aimed at addressing the ongoing housing crisis and ensuring residents have access to affordable, safe and secure homes.
The budget also strengthens investment in parks, leisure, and cultural services, protecting the community assets that residents value most. Strategic investment in Hertsmere’s creative economy will help sustain local jobs, attract further investment, and reinforce the borough’s status as a global centre for film and television production.
Crucially, the budget achieves this while maintaining the council’s financial stability and protecting frontline services.
Speaking following the meeting, Labour Leader of the Council, Cllr Jeremy Newmark said:
“This was a budget focused on growth and pride in our borough. We are investing more in cleaner streets, stronger enforcement, providing homes and strengthening the services people rely on every day.”
“Instead of presenting serious alternatives, residents witnessed cake in the chamber, confusion about basic council functions and incoherent misunderstandings about key investment programmes.”
“Hertsmere deserves serious leadership and serious debate about its future. While the Conservatives engaged in playground behaviour, Reform didn’t quite seem to understand what was going on and the Independent Group said nothing whilst voting bizarrely, the administration remained focused on doing the job.”
“We are proud to have passed a budget that strengthens services, invests in our communities, and strengthens Hertsmere’s future.”
In contrast to the spectacle witnessed from the opposition benches, the administration’s focus remains clear: delivering results, protecting essential services, and delivering an aspirational green new deal that creates jobs, prosperity and opportunity for all.”