My name is Mel Clifford, and I am standing in the Three Rivers Rural division of Hertfordshire County Council.

Full statement

The division stretches from Heronsgate through Chorleywood, to Loudwater and Sarratt and on to Kings Langley and Bedmond. A beautiful part of the county, and one that I am proud to campaign for.
I have lived in various parts of the Division since 1989, that’s 36 years. My mother lived on the mobile home park on Toms Lane in Kings Langley, and I later lived at 97 Toms Lane myself. I’m no party man, parachuted in by Central Office like our local MP. I was lucky enough to be offered the chance to serve by my local Reform branch. I thank them for that opportunity.

Who are my opponents?

The Tories – running Hertfordshire County Council for over 15 years, have spent us into debt. £60,000 is being spent every DAY on interest alone.
The Liberals – running Three Rivers since 1986, who have just spent a million pounds upgrading a bridge to the aquadrome, while spending more to close off paths in the park.
Between them they have driven our council tax bills up and up, while providing less and less in return.

What do my opponents promise?
The same things.
They say they’ll fix the roads – according to the data some of the worst in the country. But they won’t. THEY are the people that left them to crumble.
They say they’ll fight for the green belt. But they won’t. Both are in favour of unsustainable levels of migration. And if you have that you HAVE to build more houses. Meanwhile in Kings Langley the council has approved the expansion of a traveller site on green belt land, which they’ve now rename to “grey belt”. Some protection.
My opponents say they’ll clean up our rivers. My division is home to important and rare chalk streams – places of beauty – places of rare wildlife – places of refuge for us all. Places full of untreated sewage discharged from Maple Cross and Chesham sewage treatment works. Why? Because we’ve built huge numbers of new homes without investing in the infrastructure needed to support them.
Now I know full well that this is a local election. I know that many things are outside the power of a local councillor to influence, let alone control. I know that ultimately local and county councils are hostage to the policies of the central government of the time.
If that central government chooses uncontrolled mass migration, then councils must allow housing to be built for them to live in. They must supply the schools for their children, the doctors surgeries to keep them well, the hospitals for when they are sick, the roads for them to get to work, the water supplies and the sewage treatment for their homes.
The Tories and Liberals won’t admit that mass immigration poses these challenges – they want MORE of it, and whatever their council candidates say is meaningless given this simple fact.
Only Reform will do the things that a central government MUST DO if local government is to have a chance to succeed.
Only Reform will secure our borders, bring down net migration, and end waste on DEI and net-zero initiatives.
Sorry – got carried away there. Back to local matters:
If elected I do solemnly swear that I will do all I can to protect and defend the area I have made my home, and love so much. I will hunt out wasteful projects, and oppose them. I will seek more efficient ways to deliver key services. I will push for real focus on the council doing the right thing by us all – no more and no less. No net zero vanity projects. No DEI initiatives. Just delivery of the services we pay for.
But you, as voters, get to decide whether I get elected. Whether a Reform candidate gets elected.
I urge you all, if you care about your town, your county, your country – when you leave here – talk to your neighbours, your friends, your workmates and families. Ask them all to come to the polls on the 1st of May, and to vote Reform.
Historically we know May 1st as May Day. In Britain we have celebrated it as the start of summer for years beyond count.
Let’s make May Day 2025 the start of a summer in Hertfordshire.
Let’s elect Reform.
Thank you.