Article originally published as a column in the paper edition of the Herts Advertiser.
Over the past four years, it has been a great pleasure to work with my local Conservative colleagues to make Harpenden and the villages even better places to live – somewhere we can all be proud of.
In my six years as your local Member of Parliament, that is the thing you have told me above all else – we are all incredibly proud to call the beautiful towns, villages and countryside that make up our corner of Hertfordshire home. It is a core tenet of my conservatism, that we should protect and enhance the communities where we live, so that we can continue to be proud of our area.
It is what motivates my campaign to protect our area from the threat of Luton Airport expansion. So that our towns, villages and rural roads remain quiet, unpolluted, idyllic places to live and spend time.
It is what motivates our community’s concern over the Liberal Democrats’ delays on delivering a new Local Plan for our District. So that we can protect our beautiful countryside, historic communities, ancient woodlands, rare chalk streams and rural way of life from inappropriate and speculative development.
Conservatism isn’t about conserving things just for the sake of standing still. It is about ensuring that progress is made in a way that captures the essence of our communities and that makes us prouder of the places where we live.
Because whilst the Liberal Democrats – who hold 90% of the seats on our local District Council – are focussed on blaming everyone but themselves for their failures, local Conservatives have been working hard to make Harpenden and the villages an even better place to live, work and spend time.
Whether that’s the three new play parks enjoyed by local children in Harpenden. The new Batford boardwalk that opens up the Batford Springs Nature Reserve. The new school providing a first class education at Katherine Warington. The new Culture and Leisure Centres in Rothamsted Park. The 5,000 new trees I worked with the Conservative Town Council to plant in Harpenden. Or the many, many more Conservative projects delivered in our area.
Where the Lib Dems blame others for their failings, the local Conservatives get things done. Working alongside local colleagues, I want to continue to make sure that Harpenden and the villages are somewhere that we can be proud to call home over the coming years.
