Dear {{first_name | Reader}},

I spent last night at the Broxbourne election count. I watched the results come in ward by ward, spoke to candidates from across the parties, and came away with more to say than a simple tally of winners and losers. The numbers matter. But so does what they tell us about where this borough is heading. I got home late, slept briefly, and wrote this before the week got away from me. I hope you find it useful.

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Broxbourne Borough Council remains Conservative, but last night’s local elections told a more complicated story than the final tally suggests. Reform UK made its presence felt across every ward, Labour held Waltham Cross after a recount, and the night confirmed what many in the borough have quietly known for months: the political landscape here is shifting.

The weeks before polling day had a different texture to previous election cycles. Reform UK had been a visible and vocal presence in the borough, with demonstrations around the asylum hotel site generating regular footfall and the kind of local attention that feeds into ballot box decisions. Online, a wave of younger Reform-aligned voices had been building an audience, combining polished social media with unconventional stunts, including one involving a tractor that caught more attention than most traditional campaign literature ever does.

That visibility worried some of the established parties. The Conservatives responded the way they know how: knocking doors. Not glamorous, not viral, but the results suggest it still works.

Going into count night, anxiety was running high across the main parties. Nobody felt certain. In some wards, Reform came in with a confidence that felt earned.

The Conservatives held every ward they were defending, including a tense recount in Cheshunt North where Mayor of Broxbourne Patsy Spears retained her seat. A second recount in Waltham Cross went to Labour's Carol Bowman, with Reform's Carol Barrett just 17 votes behind. These were not comfortable margins.

Ward-by-ward summary:

Reform won two seats outright: Hoddesdon Town and Rye Park and Rosedale and Bury Green. In every other ward, they were the closest challenger to whoever won. That is not a footnote. That is the story of this election.

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Before the borough results came in, a county council by-election result landed first: Lesly Greensmyth won back the seat for the Conservatives, unseating the Reform councillor who had resigned earlier this year. The Conservative group at the count responded audibly. It set the tone for what followed.

One of the more striking things about Reform's local campaign was who was delivering it. Several of their candidates and supporters were notably younger than the typical ward activist: articulate, well-dressed, and operating with an energy that other parties would struggle to manufacture. They are recruiting a generation of politically engaged young people who feel unrepresented by the established parties, and they are giving them real roles, not just leaflet drops.

That matters. Not one other party on the ballot fielded a comparable profile of younger candidates. If Broxbourne's established parties want to speak to a younger electorate, not just Reform's version of it, they need to take candidate development more seriously than they currently do.

This result carries weight beyond the ward tallies. These are the final councillors to be elected under the existing two-tier structure of Hertfordshire County Council and Broxbourne Borough Council. Local government reorganisation will reshape how the borough is governed. The elected councillors, including the Mayor of Broxbourne, will be the last to hold those roles under the current structure.

It will be said that Broxbourne Borough Council was Conservative through and through to the end. Whatever comes next, that is the record.

We don't tell you who to vote for. That is not what Broxtown is here to do. But we do pay attention to how politics is changing this community, and last Thursday night showed something real.

Reform is not a protest vote in Broxbourne anymore. It is a contending force in almost every ward. The Conservatives held on through hard work and local relationships built over decades. Labour held Waltham Cross. The Greens and Liberal Democrats grew their vote share without winning seats.

The borough is not turning. But it is moving. And the pace is picking up.

We were privileged to cover this election and to be in the room as the results came in. We look forward to working with the newly elected councillors as they take on their roles in what is, for the borough, a genuinely historic moment.

Results data: Borough of Broxbourne, Returning Officer J Stack, 7 May 2026.

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Cheers,

Editor-in-chief | Emeka Ogbonnaya

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