Council leader faces confidence vote on unitary bid

4 December 2025

Amy HolmesHertfordshire Political Reporter

News image — North Hertfordshire Council is under minority control by the Labour Party but has had three leaders in six years

North Hertfordshire Council The front of North Hertfordshire Council's building in Letchworth Garden City. There are two trees without leaves in front of the building, the building itself is six stories high and has a lot of windows with a set of steps leading towards its entrance. The sky is blue behind the building. — North Hertfordshire Council is under minority control by the Labour Party but has had three leaders in six years

A council leader says he expects to lose a confidence vote over his stance on local government reorganisation in Hertfordshire.

Labour's Daniel Allen, who has been in charge of North Herts Council since May 2024, said opposition parties "did not get what they wanted" when the authority backed plans to split the county into four.

Allen added that he believed the Liberal Democrat motion to oust him was "personal" because "I have a mohawk, a lot of tattoos and speak my mind".

But Lib Dem group leader Ruth Brown, who put the motion forward, said "We have no confidence in a leader who fails to listen to locally elected representatives."

Daniel Allen A picture of Labour Councillor Daniel Allen. He is a man with short hair but he has a thick light brown beard and moustache and is wearing glasses. He is sat with a mug of coffee and his arms are folded. He has tattoos on his arms and is wearing a black t-shirt. — Councillor Allen has been leader of the authority since May 2024, but felt this no confidence motion was also "personal"

At the moment, Hertfordshire has a county council, which looks after social care, roads and education, and 10 district and borough councils, which provide services like housing, planning and waste collection.

But leaders of the 11 councils have submitted a joint proposal to the government with options for two, three or four authorities, to serve a population of 1.2 million people in future.

North Herts was one of the six that supported a model containing four authorities, despite Lib Dem and Conservative opposition backing calls for two.

Allen claimed the authority endorsed the four-council idea after feedback from residents, but Brown felt a public consultation on the plans had a response rate of "less than 1% and the result of it was not at all conclusive".

Ruth Brown A picture of Councillor Ruth Brown who is a woman with short greyish black hair. She is wearing a dark blue jacket and a blouse that is pink but with patches of blue, red and yellow on it. She is stood in the streets in Royston, with a beauty salon behind her in a pedestrian part of the town. — Lib Dem councillor Ruth Brown said a four-council model would cost more than £300m - more than one containing two authorities

There are 23 Labour councillors in North Hertfordshire along with 20 Lib Dems, seven Conservatives and one independent.

As a result, Allen told the BBC that "purely by maths, I do not have the numbers (to survive the vote) and I accept that".

He said he was "not what a lot of people would want to have as a council leader" but felt residents "generally seem very happy with me".

But Brown said her party had lost confidence in his leadership because its "well-reasoned objections" about a four-council model were ignored.

They included a claim that a four-council model would cost more than £300m more - and place a border through the middle of North Hertfordshire, cutting off villages from their local towns.

Should he lose the vote later on Thursday, his deputy, councillor Val Bryant, would take over until January, when a more permanent successor would be appointed.

She would be the fourth leader the authority has had since 2019.

The motion is backed by the Conservatives.

Group leader Ralph Muncer said: "[This] should not come as a surprise to anyone, least of all those in the Labour cabinet who were given clear overtures this would be the likely outcome were they to ignore the will of council".

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.