Local Elections 2021

Supporting our Communities.

We’re proud that our party is made up of local people who care about our town. We support community facilities like Friendship House when we see them threatened by the Conservatives and we come together to say no to overnight closures at the QE2 Hospital in Welwyn Garden City. Our members lead community support groups, serve in foodbanks, and work in the fantastic NHS vaccination programme.

Your Labour candidates in Panshanger
Joshua Chigwangwa – Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
Mike Larkins – Hertfordshire County Council
Philip Ross – Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner
(Scroll down to read more about your candidates)

Vote Labour on Thursday 6 May 2021

This election if your chance to choose a positive plan for Welwyn Hatfield’s future.

Labour will keep your council tax low while protecting key services, much like the Labour-led Council have done in Stevenage.

We’ll stand up for Health and Care workers. Labour Councillors voted for a proper pay increase for those who have been there for us during the pandemic while the Conservatives were proposing NHS pay cuts. Only Labour will bring in free parking for nurses and health workers while fighting cuts at the local QE2 Urgent Care Centre.

Labour is fighting to save vital community services like “Friendship House” in Hatfield as the Conservatives block it from being used while they work out how to pocket as much money and profit from the site as possible.

For too long greed, waste and dodgy deals have come before local people and local needs.

You can stop this right now. Vote Labour and help us put you first.

Our Pledges

*Labour Stevenage Band D Council Tax = £1904.20
Conservative Welwyn Hatfield Band D Council Tax = £1970.47

Visit our Elections 2021 page to read our pledges across housing, business, the environment, emergency services and supporting our local community in full and see what a Labour council could do for Welwyn Hatfield.

Joshua Chigwangwa
Labour Candidate – Borough Council

Joshua lives locally in Panshanger and is passionate about bringing positive change to Welwyn Hatfield. No stranger to community action, Joshua stood with the local Black Lives Matter group and addressed their first meeting in Welwyn Garden City last year.

Josh will work tirelessly as your local councillor making sure Welwyn Hatfield works for everyone, that local developments have the infrastructure needed to support our community, and that vital community services are protected.

More text from Joshua coming soon

Mike Larkins
Labour Candidate – County Council

For those who do not know me, my name is Mike Larkins. I have lived in the Haldens Ward since 1981. I was first elected in 1983 and I have represented Haldens Ward since then except for a gap of three years. I am now asking for your vote again to carry on representing you. In all those years I have always be available to the residents of the Ward. I am available by telephone on 01707 323371 and hopefully in person at our regular surgeries.  I am also frequently stopped in the street when I am walking my dog.

My main interest on the Council is my membership of the Development Management Committee which gives me a say in how the Borough is planned for the benefit of the residents. I am also a member of the Campus West Board where we discuss what is going on in the Campus West Complex.

As Councillors, we talk about family homes which is especially important to everyone. However, there is a group of people who seems to be forgotten, single people. A lot of the time this group do not even get on the council housing list or must wait many years to be offered anything. They therefore get pushed into expensive private accommodation or they end up sleeping rough. We need to help this group.

If re-elected, I will fight for at least 30% social, preferable Council housing, to be part of any development that is built in the ward and across the Borough. The definition of affordable, as defined by the Government is not affordable to the ordinary residents of the Borough, they must be Council Housing and not expensive Housing Association or even more expensive private lets.

I would like to the recycling rates especially for residents living flats. At the moment the residents of flats only have rudimentary access to recycling bins and no access to any food bins. There should be no reason that flat dwellers cannot have the same recycling facilitates as house dwellers

Parking in the ward is also a big problem it needs to be dealt with dealt with especially around the 5 Primary schools in the Ward.

My main interest outside Council work is my membership of the Governing Body of Panshanger Primary School. I have been Chair of the Governing Body for more than 10 years.

Philip Ross
Labour Candidate for Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner

My goal is to ensure that we are all safe online, in our homes, and on the streets. Our key priority is to focus on anti-social behaviour. I am going to appoint a new anti-social behaviour commissioner who will ensure that councils, the police, and other groups such as housing landlords must work together to solve complaints. We will be focusing on county-line drug gangs that target school-age children. We will introduce an intelligence-led policing model so that we can prevent and detect crime and go back to effective community and neighbourhood policing.

Remember, have your say on the local elections.
Vote Labour on Thursday 6 May!