Representatives from all five main parties jostling to take over Hertfordshire County Council have spoken out about their priorities and why you should vote for them on May I.

There are just six days to go until the county council's momentous election, which may offer a decisive glimpse of where voters are heading ten months on from Labour's general election win.

Hertfordshire is one of just a few battlegrounds for local elections this May, with most councils deferring until 2026 amid reforms to local government.

The Conservative Party has held a majority on Hertfordshire County Council for decades, but it currently stands at 42 out of 78 seats. If the party were to lose just three seats in next week's election, its majority would be wiped out.

The Tories, Labour, Lib Dems and Reform are fielding candidates in every seat on Herts County Council, while the Greens have put forward candidates in 77 out of 78 seats. Here, all five parties outline why you should cast them your vote next week.

Cllr Richard Roberts, leader of the Conservatives group on Herts County Council

The past four years have tested us all, but they've also demonstrated the resilience, generosity, and community spirit that make Hertfordshire unique. Together, we overcame the challenges of COVID and you the people of Hertfordshire opened up your homes to over 1,000 Ukrainian refugees. When temperatures went through the roof and fires raged, our firefighters rushed in to protect homes and farms. We were tested and not found wanting.

Our social care services are rated good and outstanding, when we found our SEND services in need of urgent support, we stepped in with funding, now delivering for children, as good as anywhere in the country. 92% of Hertfordshire's children learn in a good or outstanding school. Hertfordshire is a beacon of educational excellence.

The A120 Bypass, A602 upgrades and the new Hoddesdon Bridge help Keep business and residents moving.

We planted 324,647 trees and now send no waste to landfill. We have invested heavily in Waste Recycling Centres, making them easier to use, increased capacity and faster access. Some councils have closed their libraries, our 46, remain open and thriving, welcoming 2.7 million visits last year alone. In these challenging financial times we saved over a £100m to ensure your services stayed open.

We've introduced the popular rural HertsLynx buses and remain steadfast in keeping ULEZ out of Hertfordshire.

Last year we built a record, 5000 homes but Labour have said, build 10,000 and made it easier for developers, by relaxing Greenbelt protection. The Liberal Democrats want to build even more!

From social care to education, from environmental initiatives to economic growth, we work tirelessly to make Hertfordshire a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

In 2023, across all that we do, we were independently recognised as the best-performing County Council in the country, and we are determined to keep building on that success.

We are proud to be a compassionate, caring, and forward-thinking Council. With your support, we can continue to build a brighter future for Hertfordshire, driving England's, County of Opportunity. We are conservative, we are Hertfordshire.

Cllr Nigel Bell, leader of the Labour group on Herts County Council

Why It's Time to Vote Labour for Hertfordshire County Council

After 30 years of Conservative rule in Hertfordshire, residents are left with broken roads, failing SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provision, and services that simply don't work for the people who rely on them.

Despite having a staggering £1.2 billion annual budget, the Conservatives still can't fix the roads or provide proper support for children with special educational needs. Enough is enough.

Labour is offering a fresh start — a council that puts people before politics and focuses on delivering real improvements across the county. From Watford to Stevenage and Hemel to Hitchin, we have a strong team of experienced and passionate councillors and candidates who truly reflect the communities they serve. They bring a wealth of life experience and a deep understanding of local issues — they're not in this for themselves, but to make a genuine difference.

Our roads have become a daily frustration for residents and a symbol of years of neglect. Labour will prioritise proper investment and maintenance to make our roads safer and more reliable — not just temporary pothole patching that falls apart weeks later.

And for families struggling to get the SEND support their children need, Labour will bring compassion, urgency, and proper planning. We believe every child, regardless of ability, deserves the opportunity to succeed — and we will fight for that.

With a Labour government working alongside a Labour-led county council, Hertfordshire can unlock the investment it deserves. We will put that £1.2 billion budget to work for the people — improving services, supporting families, and rebuilding trust.

This May, vote Labour for Hertfordshire County Council. Let's end three decades of Conservative decline. Let's build safer roads, stronger communities, and fairer services — together. Vote for hope, vote for change, vote Labour.

Cllr Steve Jarvis, leader of the Liberal Democrats group on Herts County Council

The Conservatives have run Hertfordshire for the last 26 years, resulting in potholed roads, failing services for children with special educational needs and increasing instances of flooding due to lack of maintenance of drainage systems.

Now people think it is time for a change in how Hertfordshire is run.

The Liberal Democrats, who have three times as many seats in the council as all the other opposition parties put together, are the only realistic alternative to more years of failure by the Conservatives.

The Liberal Democrat vision for Hertfordshire County Council is for a council that people see as on their side, doing better for Hertfordshire's children with special educational needs, fixing the broken roads and bus services and creating a greener county.

We will fight to increase funding for children with special needs to match that of other councils, increase the numbers of special places for children with SEND in mainstream schools and expand children's mental health support in schools.

On roads, we will use previously trialed technology to increase the number of potholes that get fixed. We will also provide more local input into what works are done on the roads to ensure that it is targeted at the issues that affect residents.

We will roll out 20mph limits where people want them and introduce safety zones around schools.

To improve the environment, we will expand EV charging and roll out solar panels on council buildings. We will plant at least one tree for every person who lives in Hertfordshire – that's 1.4 million trees.

We have already demonstrated how this can all be achieved, despite government cuts, by ending the Conservative policy of keeping land and council buildings that have not been used for many years and by changing the way in which the money that the council does have is spent.

Next Thursday people have the chance to make the choice between more of the same from the Conservatives or a better run county delivering more of what matters from the Liberal Democrats.

John Burmicz, Reform UK candidate for Sawbridgeworth ward

What does Reform stand for? Family, community and country! We don't care where you are from, your colour, race or creed. We just need everyone to work for our community. This benefits us all in the long run.

Reform offers a common sense alternative to a political system that has broken Britain.

The Conservative-led Council has overseen a catastrophe that we cannot afford to continue. The current Labour government is crippling our industry and small businesses.

There seems to be no local priority for young people to own their own property. Why don't we put our younger generation first for a change? The property developers seem to have little interest in affordable housing.

We need big changes in the way that HCC is operating.

May 1 is your chance to make those changes; otherwise you just get the same old!

Look at these stats:

1. CEO of HCC earns around £207K; more than the PM. This is five times the gross average weekly salary in Hertfordshire of £785.

2. HCC owes more than £532 million in debt. Spent on what? This costs £60K per DAY in interest!

3. Council Tax has gone up by 25% in five years. What are we getting for this? Reduced services.

4. Debt collection at HCC is mismanaged. HCC is owed £98 million. Why don't they collect it?

5. In 2023, HCC spent £9.3 million on consultants. For what?

6. Last year HCC spent £10.3 million on Hertfordshire Skills Boot Camp. What's the result?

7. HCC will spend (2023 to 2026) £7 million on 20 mph road signage despite public opposition to wasted money. Democracy in action, right?

8. HCC spent over £312K on equality roles in two years. Why?

9. HCC spends huge amounts on diversity training. Why?

10. A portrait of Sir Winston Churchill in the HCC HQ will have a warning sign attached confirming him as a colonialist and racist? Why? Have they nothing better to do?

Hertfordshire has a poor record in public transport services according to the DfT. Make the change for your better future: Vote Reform on May 1.

Cllr Ben Crystall, leader of the Green Party on Herts County Council

On May 1, residents have an historic opportunity to end a quarter century of Conservative control at Hertfordshire County Council and the Greens are best placed to oust them.

The facts are clear. Under Conservative control, large numbers of Hertfordshire's vital bus services have been cut, isolating elderly and rural residents. The Conservative-run Council has also neglected roads, making our county one of the UK's worst for potholes, while huge numbers of blocked roadside gullies cause serious flooding in many places, damaging residents' homes and impacting journeys. Meanwhile their 'Liz Truss' economics have left the county's budget spiralling out of control, heading for a £50 million deficit next year.

Any claim the Labour Party may have once had to be a party of compassion or principle has well and truly gone. We all want to live in a county where everyone is treated with dignity, not one where the Government drives record numbers of children into poverty or close to breaking point, where older people can't keep warm and where disabled people are badly let down.

Greens are offering a hard-working and democratic alternative to the dead end, divisive choice of Reform and their impossible promises.

Here in Hertfordshire, our Green councillors are already working tirelessly every day to make a difference for their communities, working all year round on practical solutions, not just turning up on the doorstep when its election time.

Green councillors are not funded by shady businessmen or developers, or told how to vote by party bosses. We are an independent voice, embedded in our communities, listening to the needs and concerns of our residents – our neighbours – and taking action to improve residents' quality of life every day. Offering hope, not division; community, not chaos.

We can do so much better, lifting everyone up and making sure all can access extra help when needed. It's time to vote Green for real change.